Hampshire Pension Fund manages over £9.6bn in assets, so where the fund invests really matters. Winchester Green Party have been one of main local organisations that have been petitioning the Fund to move away from investment in fossil fuels and, in September, several members picketed outside Hampshire County Council offices at a protest organised by Hampshire Pension Fund Divest.
Therefore, it was welcome news that at the Winchester Council meeting last week a motion was passed recognising that Hampshire Pension Fund’s approach to fossil fuel investment needs to change. The leader of the Council will now write to the board of the fund to ask them to commit to divesting their fossil fuel equities and instead seek to invest in companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimise climate risk and where possible provide local environmental benefits.
Cllr Danny Lee, who supported the motion, stated, ‘From insulating heat-leaking homes to facilitating mass public transport, councils are key to effect climate action, but this is undermined if local authority pension funds continue to fund fossil fuels. The climate crisis isn’t going away. It’s time to ditch financially risky holdings in gas, coal and oil, and invest in accelerating the transformation to a carbon-free future'.
Cllr Lee also proposed an amendment for the Council to consider the creation of a Green Fund for investment in Hampshire-wide ‘green’ projects. Although this amendment was not passed, it could be considered at a later date and is an opportunity to accelerate local investment.
