Local government pensions, fossil fuels and the transition to a new economy

This report was published with UK partners as part of our campaign to encourage local government pension schemes to go fossil free.

Local governments in the UK have pension funds worth over £230 billion. £14 billion of this – over 6% – is invested into fossil fuel corporations.

This report analyses the breakdown of investments of all UK local authorities through their 101 pensions funds, responsible for 4.6 million employees. It looks at the impacts of these investments, and the potential alternatives.

We know that 80% of the world’s oil, coal and gas reserves need to stay in the ground, to prevent catastrophic climate change. Local authorities were at the forefront of divesting from apartheid in the 1980s. City, borough and county councils have the opportunity to lead again, by divesting from fossil fuels.