CAST allied campaign group, Divest Tyne & Wear (previously diveST), has raised its game in the push to divest the region from fossil fuels!
Formed by local citizens, they’ve released a series of three video shorts to highlight the 100s of millions of pounds of public money - our local rates - being spent on the fossil fuel industry and launched an online petition calling for Tyne & Wear Pension Fund to stop investing in these environmentally destructive corporations.
Speaking to former diveST Project Lead, now active member of Divest Tyne & Wear, Anne-Marie Soulsby said:
‘All six councils have declared a climate emergency with each making public commitments on their websites however each one continues to use council tax income to support their pension schemes. This means that it’s not just the 167,000 plus members of the pension scheme unwittingly contributing to climate change but every single one of us. We’re calling on Tyne & Wear Pension Fund to immediately freeze new investment in fossil fuels, divest from non-renewables by 2026 and instead reinvest these funds into the green economy to help the North East lead the way to a sustainable future.
We’re asking everyone who’s interested in the future of our planet, to add their signature to the petition to demonstrate the strength of community feeling and remind those in authority that they are accountable to us, the public.’
Sign the petition here and take a look at the videos here
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