Climate activists hold protests outside Lewes county hall

Campaigners held a tug of war outside the council buildings on Tuesday, December 6, with half representing fossil fuels and the other representing climate action.

Those who took part are asking the county council to fully divest from funding in fossil fuels, oppose the government’s dash for gas in the North Sea and support a proper windfall tax on Big Oil’s massive profits.

Activists say the East Sussex Pension Fund, which is administered by East Sussex County Council (ESCC), currently has tens of millions of pounds of local people’s pension invested in the giant oil and gas companies, such as Shell and BP, that are driving the climate crisis.

Pension Fund member Sarah Hazlehurst said: "This year we’ve seen devastating floods displace more than 30 million people in Pakistan, Europe experience what may be its worst drought in 500 years, and China experience the most severe heatwave ever recorded anywhere.

“Despite the UN declaring a ‘climate emergency’ over three years ago, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is still investing local people’s pensions in the giant oil companies – like Shell and BP – that are driving the climate crisis.

“It’s time for East Sussex County Council to stop supporting the fossil fuel companies and start supporting real climate action – because you can’t support both.”

A petition with the campaigner's demands has already been signed by over 2,900 members of the public. If it reaches 5,000, the ESCC will have to debate these issues at a full council meeting.

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The action was organised by – Divest East Sussex, Lewes Climate Hub, XR Lewes, XR Hastings & St Leonards and XR Eastbourne. It comes less then a month after the same group hung a banner over county hall which read ‘ESCC: Divest Now'.

An East Sussex Pension Fund spokesperson said: “The East Sussex Pension Fund has a legal responsibility to pay pensions which are affordable, and not to make investment decisions for any other purpose than to generate a return.

"The Fund however continues to take responsible investment seriously and takes climate risk and other environmental, social and governance factors into account when investing with an Investment Manager, as the Fund itself does not invest in any company directly.

“The Fund’s exposure to the fossil fuel sector has reduced significantly in recent years, and accounts for between one and two per cent of the Fund’s overall investments.

"The Fund must legally invest in a wide range of assets and has invested around £1.5 billion in funds which have a bias to climate solutions, greener revenues, and resource efficiency, including fossil free equity investments. In addition, the Fund saw a reduction in the carbon emissions of the investment portfolio by 55% in the last two years.

“The Fund has a policy of engagement first and makes strategic decisions about the types of investment the Fund can hold under the advice and guidance of the Fund’s officers, external advisers and government departments.

"These governing bodies and advisers all favour engagement and active stewardship over divestment; however, divestment from a specific company is not ruled out where the company is failing to engage on environmental or other matters.

“The Fund was named Local Government Pension Scheme Fund of the Year (assets over £2.5 billion) at the 2021 Local Authority Pension Fund Investments Awards, and highly commended for its investment approach to climate.”