Stop investing in oil and gas, schemes told
Oil and gas companies such as BP and Shell need to be put on notice by pension funds and their asset managers.
Tony Burdon, the chief executive of Make My Money Matter (MMMM), told delegates it had helped thousands of members write to their pension scheme and get hundreds of employers to commit to providing staff with net zero pensions.
“If they fail to change you need to divest"
Burdon, who also mentioned that MMMM was working with The Crown actress Olivia Coleman, said a total of 60 schemes had committed to this, accounting for £1.5 trillion assets under management.
He believed while change was coming too slow and too late, members and their schemes should be given credit for trying to work towards net-zero targets.
Pension funds need to put them on notice
The campaigner, whose organisation is two years old, targeted the oil and gas holdings in pension funds.
“All our pension schemes are invested in them but these oil and gas companies plan to expand. All of that is contrary to what the International Energy Agency (IEA)energy says is necessary to limit global warming.”
Burdon said MMMM was advising schemes asking for advice on their oil and gas holdings.
“What we are saying to schemes is that you need to put oil and gas companies on notice. Tell them you have a rapidly escalating engagement strategy with them [sic].
“If they fail to change you need to divest.”
Burdon said Shell’s decision to reverse its emission reduction target - a move that had the support of 80 per cent of its shareholders - made Shell an untenable holding in any pension fund committed to net zero.
“They are tobacco companies, which sell cigarettes and kill people. Their job is to sell oil and gas and that won’t change.”
Make MyMoney Matter was also campaigning for changes to be made around fiduciary duty, which Burdon said was not fit for purpose.
“In a climate emergency, financial outcomes may worsen.We need to look at fiduciary duty and improve the guidance and look at its systemic impact [around ESG].”
factbox
What did Shell do?
In June this year Shell told its shareholders it would keep its oil output steady or slightly higher into 2030.
Reuters reported that the move was Shell CEO Wael Sawan's “efforts to regain investor confidence as the energy giant wrestles with poor returns from renewables while oil and gas profits are booming, company sources said”.
Sawan scrapped a target to reduce oil output by 1 per cent to 2 per cent per year, although it claimed it had already reached its target.
The Financial Times also reported that Shell had pledged to invest in new oil and gas production for years to come.
