Fracking investments through council pension budget ‘unlawful’

Fracking protesters in Lancashire Image copyright PA Symbol caption Fracking protesters in Lancashire

Welsh councils might be performing unlawfully via continuing to take a position in companies fascinated by fracking, a file has claimed.

More than £600m used to be supplied through council pension budget to firms with fracking operations overseas in 2016-17.

Campaigners argued the situation appeared “to fly within the face of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act”.

Council leaders said “great consideration” was once given to making accountable investments.

The Welsh Govt is lately consulting on its place to not supply new licences for fracking in Wales, having had a moratorium on the apply in position because 2015.

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Wales’s Long Run Generations Commissioner has in the past referred to as on Welsh councils to demonstrate how mitigating the risk of climate change is being incorporated into their pension funds’ funding strategy.

Speaking in March, after it was found out £1bn of pension fund funding in Wales was once being spent on fossil gas firms, Sophie Howe mentioned: “Underneath the Well-being of Future Generations Act public bodies want to illustrate how they’re eager about the social, financial, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales for now and for long run generations.”

“In line with the Paris Agreement, The Environment (Wales) Act and the Smartly-being of Future Generations Act, pension budget must be demonstrating how they are making an allowance for climate possibility in their investment selections. i want to know how they have done this and what motion has been taken; in particular, has any formal advice been sought and a climate risk investment strategy been developed and applied?”

Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Engineers at the drilling platform at a shale fracking facility in Preston, Lancashire

The Welsh Native Govt Affiliation (WLGA) said that each one Welsh finances had been contributors of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) which considers and advises on moral and local weather-similar funding problems.

“The WLGA encourages the improvement of moral funding principles,” mentioned a spokesman.

“The pooling of the 8 funds in Wales gives an opportunity to share just right apply beneath the Welsh pension partnership joint committee in relation to accountable investment together with fossil fuels.”

“this could complement the principle fiduciary responsibility of every fund which is to take a position for the convenience of over THREE HUNDRED,000 participants of the native executive pension scheme in Wales.”

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