We call on Suffolk County Council Pension Fund to cease any new investments in fossil fuel, and within three years divest the pension fund's holdings from fossil fuels.

Investing in fossil fuel creates a risk both to members of the pension fund and to the planet. Financial analysts warn that fossil fuel companies are likely to be over-valued due to their reliance on reserves in the ground which will become worthless if carbon legislation comes into effect.

All local authorities in Suffolk contribute to this pension fund, including Ipswich Borough Council, Waveney District Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, Forest Heath District Council and Babergh District Council.

Suffolk County Council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency in 2019  and declares that it wants to be the ‘greenest county’. This aspiration is incompatible with a pension fund that is still wedded to high carbon investments. Why would a council which professes to be working hard to achieve net zero in their operations continue to invest millions in fossil fuels through their pension fund?

We call on the Pension Fund to come clean with their contributors and beneficiaries, many of whom would be shocked to find that their Pension Fund is investing in polluting carbon technologies.

Some Council Pension Funds have done this already!  In 2016, Waltham Forest Council Pension Fund Committee became the first to make the ground-breaking decision to divest from fossil fuels for both environmental and financial reasons. Since then many other Councils have made the commitment too.

Reducing investment in fossil fuels  helps protect pension funds against possible future under performance of oil, gas, and coal stocks as the world moves toward a low-carbon economy, and creates a cleaner environment for everyone.

Time is running out, we have no time to delay.