How our pensions are wrecking the planet

15 March 2018

How our pensions are wrecking the planet… and what we can do about it!

by Emily Heath- Green Party Member, Employee of Lancaster University ( and participant in the University strike about changes to pensions, March 2018)

Private pension schemes in the UK are worth £3 trillion.

USS is one of the biggest of these, investing £60 billion on behalf of its 375,000 members.

Imagine how the world could be transformed if pension funds were invested ethically, to actively promote social justice and environmental sustainability! 

We could power the world with renewable energy, make useful stuff out of recycled materials, build ecohomes, grow sustainable food and ensure that everyone has good, affordable healthcare.

Many pension funds around the world have already adopted ethical investment policies, and divested from harmful activities such as fossil fuels and weapons. 

There is an ongoing campaign (https://shareaction.org/uss/) for USS to do the same, but USS trustees are very resistant.

We need more USS members to get angry and do something about the shameful fact that we are profiting from the likes of Shell, British American Tobacco and the mining giant Rio Tinto. It’s no exaggeration to say that our pensions are killing people! 

You can see the current list of companies that USS invests in at: www.uss.co.uk/how-uss-invests/the-fund/investments/uss-top-100-listed-equities

Top of the list of USS equities, with nearly £0.5 billion of our money, is Royal Dutch Shell - Europe’s largest oil company.

Shell has known for several decades that burning fossil fuels causes climate change, yet it has funded climate change denial, and delayed the transition to a low-carbon economy. Only a small fraction of Shell’s expenditure is on ‘new energy’, and its directors get big bonuses for maximising fossil fuel production.

Oil and gas reserves could become ‘stranded assets’ as global CO₂ emissions are reduced – putting our pensions at greater risk.

 

What can we do about it?

 

• Tell USS that you want an ethical pension, via:  www.uss.co.uk/public/contact-us
• Put your money where your mouth is, if you are paying additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) into the USS Investment Builder (IB).  choose either the Ethical Lifestyle Fund, or the Ethical Equity Fund.
• In a different pension scheme? Find out where your money is invested and join/start a campaign to make it ethical: https://shareaction.org/resource/
• Donate to campaign groups such as ShareAction or 350.org
• No pension? You can still make a difference by switching your bank and electricity provider to stop funding fossil fuels.
• Contact@ShareActionUKorinfo@shareaction.org to get involved

Pension funds could make all the difference to stabilising Earth’s climate - before it’s too late!

In 2016/17, 59,000 USS members paid AVCs into IB, but only 128 opted for the Ethical Lifestyle Fund.  

 

 

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