"It’s crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel, when these are the very things that are jeopardising the future which we are saving for..."

- Sir David Attenborough, A Life On Our Planet (2020)
 

FOSSIL FREE SHROPSHIRE is calling on Shropshire’s flagship £2 billion pension fund to stop investing in fossil fuel companies like BP and Shell. This pension fund covers both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

Why are we doing this?

 
1. FOSSIL FUELS ARE A FINANCIAL DISASTER

​Between 2017 and 2020 the Shropshire County Pension Fund lost an estimated £11 million due to its investment in companies like BP and Shell. During the same period, investment in the renewables sector achieved record returns. Investment in fossil fuels is hugely volatile. Shropshire council tax pays into the fund and council taxpayers are the ultimate guarantors of the fund – it’s YOUR MONEY that is funding fossil fuel companies.

 
2. FOSSIL FUELS ARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

For every £1 invested by fossil fuel majors, over 95p ends up in further expansion of oil and gas reserves that are incompatible with the Paris Climate Agreement to keep the world below 1.5C of warming. If we want the planet to stop being ravaged by wildfires and floods, we need to stop investing in the companies that are wrecking it for our children and grandchildren.

 
WHY SHOULD YOU SIGN THIS PETITION?

In July 2020 Shropshire Council passed a historic vote to stop investing its pension in fossil fuels by 2023. Other councils – including Telford & Wrekin, Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Wem, and Much Wenlock – have since supported this too.  

Shropshire’s Pension Committee, which controls the fund, is dragging its heels over the issue. It still hasn’t formally responded to the divestment vote.

This November the world’s leaders will meet in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit to discuss how to grapple with the climate emergency. At the same time, the Shropshire County Pension Fund Committee will make a final decision on the fossil fuels issue.

Should they continue investing in companies that are wrecking the planet? Or follow over a thousand other institutions that have already voted to divest?

None of the institutions who have divested have regretted the move or reversed the decision. All of them are helping to save the planet from catastrophic climate breakdown.

We think the Shropshire County Pension Fund needs to follow them.
 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We need anyone who cares about the climate crisis to make their voice heard. You don’t need to be a pension fund member, since this is an issue that affects each and every one of us.

By signing this petition, you will help ensure that the democratic vote of Shropshire Council is not ignored, and that Shropshire’s pension fund stops destroying the planet through its investments.  

Divesting from fossil fuels will make the pension fund financially healthier. It will also send a clear message to companies like BP and Shell that they can’t continue wrecking our children’s futures.

When you sign this petition we will also send a campaign postcard with a shorter version of this text to the Pension Fund Committee on your behalf. We believe that a giant sack of postcards will have great visual impact.

If you do not want this postcard to be sent on your behalf, please let us know at fossilfreeshropshire@gmail.com