Press release from DivestSurrey:

The 75,000 residents of Surrey, who hold a pension managed under the Surrey Pension Fund may be concerned to know that the £2.8 billion fund is in “very significant deficit” as revealed by Cllr Hazel Watson, a SPF committee member [1].

Steve McDonald from DivestSurrey, a campaign launched to persuade the pension fund to divest from global warming fossil fuels said,

“As Surrey residents we want the pension to fund to provide both solid returns for pensioners and a sustainable future for the community.

“Continued investments of over £176 million in fossil fuels [2] does neither, particularly as we know the pension is in very significant deficit.

“For example around £28 million of money invested on behalf of pensioners rests with Shell. A thousand pounds invested in Shell at the beginning of 2012 would have fallen below £ 800 by the end of 2015 whereas investments in other selected stocks would certainly have produced better returns”.

Surrey residents are lobbying Pension Fund Committee members and other councillors regarding the irrational decision to divest not a penny from dirty fossil fuel assets, but the small number of responses received continues to disappoint.

However, Surrey pensioners can take heart from recent good news from the other side of London, which we hope may encourage our councillors to think again.

On 22 September 2016, Waltham Forest Pension Fund voted unanimously to dump all its fossil fuel stocks [3].

Chair of the Pension Fund Committee, Councillor Simon Miller, commented, “Waltham Forest Pension Fund is proud to commit to divesting from fossil fuels. Not only does this mean that the fund will not be invested in stranded assets [investments that suffer from premature devaluations], but will be actively investing in cleaner, greener investments to the benefit of our community, borough, and environment.”

Sign the petition asking the Surrey Pension Fund to divest all fossil fuel investments

Read more: Surrey Pension Fund urged to divest from fossil fuels

[1] email from Cllr Hazel Watson to Steve McDonald
[2] Source: Local Government Pensions, Fossil Fuels & the Transition to a New Economy
[3] Waltham Forest Pension Fund becomes first in UK to divest from fossil fuels