When will Greater Manchester Pension Fund de-carbonise its investment portfolio?
24th July 2018The Greater Manchester Pension Fund has yet to engage with the arguments for fossil fuel divestment and present clear plans for decarbonisation of its portfolio. Background In November last year, GMPF responded to our campaign for divesting their fossil fuel holdings with a 14 page letter. They acknowledged the risks from climate change and said…
Read moreOn the Mythical Peril of Divesting from Fossil Fuels – from the LSE
14th June 2018This article, by the LSE’s Jeremy Grantham, is well worth a read – not least by GMPF’s investment managers and advisors. It confirms the point we made in our briefing to councillors – divesting from fossil fuels is not a financial risk, and indeed could be a benefit to the fund. It refutes the Fund’s…
Read moreFossil Free Greater Manchester news release
20th May 2018Fossil Free Greater Manchester news release Immediate release On Monday 21st May, campaigners from Fossil Free Greater Manchester and pension fund members will be joining campaigners from Latin America at a vigil outside BP’s Annual General meeting in Manchester, calling on BP to stop fracking in Argentina and worldwide. [1] In 2017, the Greater Manchester…
Read moreGreater Manchester Pension Fund: the fracking connection
12th May 2018Residents in Greater Manchester overwhelming oppose fracking. The Manchester Evening News conducted a poll in 2014 and found that 73% of respondents opposed fracking. The figure is likely to be even higher now as the website is (as of 8 May, 2018) showing 88% against. Some of our councils (Manchester, Bury, Salford, Trafford, and Westhoughton…
Read moreGreater Manchester Pension Fund starts on the path to fossil fuel divestment
15th March 2018Statement from Fossil Free Greater Manchester in response to Greater Manchester Pension Fund’s formal response to our campaign. There is just one week to go before the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Green Summit that is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality for the city region as early as possible. We are therefore pleased to report some progress…
Read moreCouncillor Kieran Quinn
2nd January 2018Councillor Kieran Quinn: Statement from Fossil Free Greater Manchester Like others who had known him, we at Fossil Free Greater Manchester were shocked and saddened to hear of Councillor Kieran Quinn’s untimely and sudden death during the Christmas holiday. Along with many civic roles, Cllr Quinn chaired the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and was open…
Read moreResponse to GMPF’s consultation on its Investment Strategy Statement
14th November 2017We have now published our response to the GMPF Investment Strategy Statement. We welcome the acknowledgement that climate change is a material financial risk to the Fund’s investments but we argue that the Fund’s chosen approach for responding to this, engagement with the fossil fuel companies, is inadequate to the task. As engagement specialist NGO…
Read moreGreater Manchester councils investing £1.8 BILLION in climate-wrecking companies
9th November 2017National data released today has revealed that Greater Manchester’s local authority pension fund is investing £1.8 billion in the fossil fuel industry [1]. Campaigners say the controversial investments threaten the climate and also represent an unacceptable financial risk to both present and future pensioners. The Greater Manchester Pension Fund is now the dirtiest in…
Read more5,000 people call for GM Pension Fund to ditch fossil fuels
22nd September 2017Today we handed in our petition with more than 5,000 signatures calling on GMPF to divest from fossil fuels. At the end of the Fund’s Annual General Meeting, the Chair, Councillor Kieran Quinn, accepted the petition to which the Fund will respond. We now look forward to an informed discussion on climate risk and responsible…
Read moreTUC supports fossil fuel divestment of local pensions
14th September 2017The TUC has voted through a composite motion on climate change transition that includes this clause: vi. investigate the long-term risks for pension funds investing in fossil fuels, promote divestment, and alternative reinvestment in the sustainable economy. It follows on Unison’s motion in favour of campaigning on divestment and was carried unanimously at TUC conference….
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