THE Cardiff and the Vale Pension Fund has been pushed to drop investments in fossil fuel companies.

A motion on July 18 saw Cardiff Council push for their pension fund to divest its investments in fossil fuel companies in the next five years, and welcomed the pension committee’s decision to move 10 per cent – approximately £200m – of assets immediately to a fund tracking a Global Low Carbon index. The pension applies to both Vale and Cardiff council workers.

Friends of the Earth Cymru congratulated the council.

Spokeswoman Bleddyn Lake said: “After years of lobbying by Friends of the Earth, it’s fantastic to see Cardiff councillors taking the historic decision to stop supporting the fossil fuel companies that are fuelling the climate crisis.

“Now it’s time for all the local authority pension funds in Wales to follow Cardiff’s lead.

“Too many have been hiding away from taking meaningful action, but a climate emergency means we cannot afford to be investing money in the very companies driving climate change.

“Research has shown divesting from fossil fuel companies is better financially and will minimise future financial risks for those with pensions in these funds.

“Climate change is the challenge of our age. We can’t afford to push action further down the road all the time or expect others to be the ones to sort out this mess.

“We want to see the Wales Pension Partnership, the Welsh Assembly, the Welsh Government and all other public body pension funds ditch fossil fuel investments and we will be keeping the pressure up until they do the right thing, both for the planet and for future generations here in Wales and around the world.”

Previous research by Friends of the Earth found that the eight local authority pension funds in Wales invested over £1bn between them in fossil fuel companies.

Last year Monmouthshire Council was the first in Wales to vote to divest its pension fund from fossil fuel companies.