Oldham’s Liberal Democrats are backing the Fossil Fuel Greater Manchester campaign in asking the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the largest of its kind in the country, to go green and ditch investments in coal, gas and coal.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, wrote recently to the Council’s representative on the board of the pension fund, Labour Deputy Leader Councillor Abdul Jabbar MBE, asking for his help in making this request a reality.

Councillor Sykes explained:  “In light of the long-term threat posed to our natural environment and humanity by climate change, Oldham Council has like many others declared a climate emergency and has set ambitious goals to become a carbon neutral local authority by 2025 and a carbon neutral borough by 2030.  It seems incongruous that both we as a Council and our employees continue to contribute to a pension fund that has significant investments in fossil fuels.”

At 31 March 2019, GMPF had direct holdings of over £1.3 billion in fossil fuel companies, along with an estimated £350 million in pooled equity funds.  This is a total of £1.71 billion, which is 7% of total holdings, as recorded in the March 2019 Annual Report.

Councillor Sykes has asked his colleague, who is the Cabinet Member for Green issues, to raise the need for divestment into green technologies at the board.  “I am hopeful that Cllr Jabbar will be supportive of our ambitions for the board to

recognise the need for divestment and to clearly identify a firm timetable and ambitious time-bound targets to get out of fossil-fuels soon and for good.”

The email letter sent to Councillor Abdul Jabbar MBE 8 March – despite a reminder no response to date

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, MBE, Cabinet Member for Finance and Green, Oldham Council, Oldham Council’s Representative to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund

Dear Councillor Jabbar,

Re: carbon- neutral, zero carbon goals of Oldham Council

As you know, the Liberal Democrat Group stands with the Labour Administration in seeking to achieve our ambition to make Oldham Council carbon-neutral by 2025 and to make our borough the same by 2030.  These are incredibly ambitious targets, but they are targets that we must achieve for the sake of the residents of the borough and the future of our planet.

Other authorities across Greater Manchester have set similar ambitious goals – Bury by 2030, Manchester by 2038, and Stockport Council also by 2038 – and the University of Manchester has also committed to divest its fossil fuel investments by 2022, and the Mayor of Greater Manchester has just concluded a public consultation prior to introducing a new action plan to improve air quality across our city region.

Yet there is something that the ten authorities and their staff do day-by-day that is seriously compromising our environment and jeopardising the achievement of these ambitious goals – that is contributing to, and otherwise supporting, a city-regional pension fund that continues to hold sizable investments in fossil fuel businesses.  Businesses whose products continue to contaminate our atmosphere and poison our people.

The Greater Manchester Pension Fund stands out in the pantheon of public sector pension funds regrettably for its commitment to the fossil fuel industry.  At 31 March 2019, GMPF had direct holdings of over £1.3 billion in fossil fuel companies, along with an estimated £350 million in pooled equity funds.  This is a total of £1.71 billion, which is 7% of total holdings, as recorded in the March 2019 Annual Report.  The biggest holdings are in BP and Shell.  The equivalent Lancashire pension fund has only 1.89% of its investments in fossil fuels.

While councils and other employers across Greater Manchester have pledged to take urgent action to avert the climate emergency, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund has only made a vague commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and has made very slow progress in divesting from fossil fuels. 

GMPF justify their continued fossil-fuel investments by citing fiduciary duty and the need to make the best possible returns for investors, but fossil fuel businesses have recently performed poorly.  Their performance will continue to decline as oil and gas reserves become exhausted and as investment and public sentiment moves increasingly into renewable energy and transport. 

This at a moment in our history when time is fast running out to arrest irreversible climate change; if this does not happen our future pensioners will hardly appreciate the benefits of fiduciary duty when they are struggling to breathe.   

The biggest threat to workers, pensioners, employers and taxpayers is the climate emergency – inaction by GMPF increases the risk of climate instability and economic collapse. 

Investors managing over $11 trillion of assets globally have now made divestment commitments, and it’s working – last year Goldman Sachs said that divestment has “in our view been a driver of the [coal] sector de-rating over the past five years.”

It’s time for GMPF to stop making excuses and to use its expertise and investments to rapidly divest from fossil fuels and thereby help to create a safer, healthier future for all GM residents.

I am therefore writing to ask you to raise as Oldham Council’s representative on the GMPF Management Advisory Board at its next meeting on Friday 19 March the need for divestment and to clearly identify a firm timetable and ambitious time-bound targets to get out of fossil-fuels soon and for good.

Thank you for considering my request and in anticipation of your support.

I would appreciate an update after the meeting, and of course I stand ready to assist you in any way to achieve these goals.

I look forward to your comments with interest.

Best wishes and stay safe.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE