Manchester urged to ditch fossil-fuel pensions
'According to the Fossil Free Greater Manchester group, the region has ‘the largest and dirtiest’ public sector pension fund in the country with approx £1 billion invested in fossil fuels.'
Local Quakers in the north of England are supporting a campaign to persuade the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) to ditch investments in fossil fuel companies.
According to the Fossil Free Greater Manchester group, the region has ‘the largest and dirtiest’ public sector pension fund in the country with approx £1 billion invested in fossil fuels. Campaigners such as Friends of the Earth and XR Manchester are demanding that they stop investing in fossil fuels within two years and get out of coal immediately.
Writing in the Manchester Quaker newsletter, an XR member says that ‘Tameside Council (who manage the fund) are not budging on it… Our strategy at the moment is to isolate Tameside from political support. At the moment we want to put pressure on Andy Burnham [mayor of Greater Manchester] to get off the fence and support our demands’.
Campaigners put their concerns to the mayor at an ‘Ask Andy’ event in Bolton on 24 March, where outside they brandished alarm clocks and banners. One of the XR organisers told the Friend the demo was ‘good-natured and highly visible’. ‘Andy Burnham came out and listened to our points. He seemed most interested in the financial arguments about fairness to scheme members – one the fund is keen to push. We did our best to debunk that with arguments about stranded assets… Burnham is engaging with the Friends of the Earth-backed group Fossil Free Greater Manchester [on the issue].’
One Northern Friends Peace Board member said: ‘We are aware of and support the campaign but really pressure needs to come from those living in Tameside. Most other councillors on the advisory group in Greater Manchester are supportive of the campaign. One Friend has been trying to do it on behalf of an environment group. Andy [Burnham] has no direct power re: the fund, though might be more outspoken about it.’
A former member of Bolton Meeting, Barry Mills, told the Friend that, as a retired Unison member, his pension comes from this fund: ‘Many years ago I asked if there could be an ethical portfolio I could opt into but this has never been an option. As well as concerns about climate change, investing heavily in fossil fuels seems risky to me as there could be a sudden change.’ He added: ‘It has come as a surprise to me that Tameside Council has so much power in this matter. I knew that they administered the scheme on behalf of all ten Greater Manchester Councils but thought major decisions would be taken collectively, but it appears this is not the case.’
Campaigners will be attending the next ‘Ask Andy’ event. ‘Investing pensions in fossil fuel companies is financially risky as well as morally wrong,’ said Wendy Maycraft, a Bolton resident. ‘Andy Burnham champions a carbon zero target of 2038 for Greater Manchester [GM] while ignoring the pension fund’s £1bn investments in fossil fuels. He must call on Tameside Council, who manage the fund, to ensure that the fund is aligned with GM’s ambition to act on the climate emergency.’
A spokesperson for Andy Burnham said: ‘The GM Pension Fund by law is the sole responsibility of Tameside Council and is not a function of the mayor, the combined authority or a joint committee of the Greater Manchester authorities. Any questions about the Fund should be directed to the GMPF or Tameside Council as the mayor is not able to speak on behalf of the fund.’
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