Oldham Council will now back calls for the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to stop its investment in fossil fuels, following an amendment from Liberal Democrats which was passed last night [15/03/23].

The amendment called for the pension fund – the largest in the local government pension scheme, with over 375,000 members – to divest from fossil fuels by 2030, in line with the borough’s zero-carbon target, and in the meantime to provide an annual report on exactly how it is using its investment to pressure companies to go green.

Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “I am delighted that the Council has changed tack and backed this commitment. Other pension funds have committed to divest, and that GMPF was planning to invest in fossil fuels until 2050 is just wrong.

“GMPF has previously argued that its investments can be a driver for change. Well, let’s see the proof. I want to see an annual report detailing exactly how they are doing that, and a solid target for companies, so that they know if they are still working in fossil fuels at the end of this decade, then they will lose our investment.

“Wishy-washy targets for the middle of this century are no incentive for anyone.”

A previous divestment motion from the Liberal Democrats in 2021 was opposed by the Labour Council, but they were prepared to back the new proposals after six other GM councils backed calls for change by 2038.

Councillor Al-Hamdani said: Oldham has a carbon-neutral target of 2030. It would be hypocritical if we still weren’t asking GMPF to stop investing fossil fuels by the same deadline.

“We are currently in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis – driven in part by massive energy price hikes. The UK can’t carry on the same way – we need to wean ourselves off this addiction to international fossil fuels.

We need to be doing everything that we can to move to a sustainable, reliable, low-cost energy market, and that means investing in UK-based green solutions. It’s better for our economy, our environment, and most importantly, for people who have been hammered by huge energy bills.”