Campaigners gathered outside County Hall on Wednesday to protest against £146 million from Derbyshire County Council's pension fund being invested in fossil fuel companies.
Protesters from Divest Derbyshire and Derbyshire Pensioners Action Group were joined by a 10ft long monster puppet to highlight their claims that the council has around £146 million invested in oil and gas companies including Shell and BP.
Lisa Hopkinson, of Divest Derbyshire, said: “Most people have no idea what the pension fund is invested in.”
The organisation has contacted 200 major employers of the county council pension fund, including schools, colleges, district and borough councils and the fire and police services and asked employers to forward information about the fossil fuel investments to their employees who contribute to the pension fund.
Ms Hopkinson continued: “We want to get people to look into the pension fund and tell them ‘we don’t want investment in fossil fuels, we want investment in renewable energy’.”
She argued that aside from the climate change implications of supporting oil and gas companies, the fossil fuel industry is no longer a safe investment, as renewable energy sources become more widespread.
“They have got a duty to look after the long term interests of the pension fund,” Ms Hopkinson added.
“We shouldn’t be investing in Blockbuster, we should be investing in Netflix.”
Sue Owen, of Derbyshire Pensioners’ Action Group who is also a member of the pension fund, said:
“There is very little time to stop climate catastrophe.
“By investing in fossil fuels, our pension money is helping to create this crisis.
“I do not want my pension money to be invested in fossil fuels and neither do the vast majority of other members we have spoken to.
“Our pension money should be invested in green and sustainable developments.”
The protest was part of the national ‘Councils: Stop Funding Fossil Fuels Day of Action’ was supported by Friends of the Earth and Platform London and aimed to coincide with discussions on finance at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow.
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