Rother District Council backs East Sussex Pension Fund to withdraw any fossil fuels investments

On Monday (February 20), Rother District Council voted through a motion calling on the fund, which is administered by East Sussex County Council, to immediately halt new investment in fossil fuels and to completely withdraw its existing investments within five years.

Following an amendment tabled during the meeting, the motion also called on the fund to replace its fossil fuel investments with those of the same or greater yield.

The original motion has been tabled by Labour councillor Christine Bayliss, who argued divestment would send a ‘powerful message’ to the industry. She said: “I’m sure it will be pointed out that this is a small proportion of the fund, it still runs into several million being used to support industries that are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

“It is time for us to take a stand and send a clear message to the East Sussex Pension Fund that we want the investments to reflect our values as a council. We cannot continue to support industries that are destroying our planet and endangering the future of generations to come.

“By divesting fully from fossil fuels the East Sussex Pension Fund can send a powerful message to the fossil fuel industry that their practices are no longer acceptable. It will also provide an example for other investors to follow and encourage the growth of sustainable and environmentally friendly investments.”

The motion was voted through despite criticism from the council’s Conservative group, which had suggested an alternative motion. This alternative motion, put forward by Cllr John Barnes, called on the pension fund to “consider divestment” but also would have seen the council “congratulate” the fund for steps already taken to improve its environmental credentials.

Cllr Barnes said: “In other words I agree with the fact we have a climate change emergency, I am urging that divestment is actively considered but I believe you best persuade people by recognising how much has already been done and how much has changed already with that pension fund.”

This alternative motion fell after failing to win support from the council’s other political groups, who described it as both a “fudge” and a “wrecking motion”. This criticism was disputed by Conservatives, who said the alternative had been tabled in hopes of finding a “unified approach.”

In passing the motion, the district council has joined a number of other pension fund bodies— including Brighton and Hove City Council, Hastings Borough Council and Lewes District Council — to make similar calls in recent years.

Despite these calls, the county council’s pension committee has, so far, voted down efforts to completely divest from oil, gas and coal.

In doing so, some committee members have argued that the fund has already heavily reduced its fossil fuel investments and spoken in favour of using its remaining holdings to conduct investor engagement, with the aim of improving the companies’ environmental impact.

The motion has been welcomed by Divest East Sussex, a campaign group which has been calling on the pension fund to withdraw its investments in oil, coal and gas.