What if £14 billion of local government pension funds, currently in fossil fuels, was re-invested to create environmental, social and economic benefits – as well as a sound financial return?
Platform and Community Reinvest advocate for pensions and other funds to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in the new economy – in economic activities that are low carbon, create good quality local jobs, have demonstrable social benefits, and increase public and democratic control over the economy.
This report has been produced to assist councillors, local government staff, pension holders and the wider public to understand how we can reinvest to build a new economy. There are a plethora of options for funds that are divesting from fossil fuels. However, many of the most obvious alternative investments are still focused on multinational equities, and are not part of the new economy. Hence this report examines both the current investment possibilities – along with their limitations – and how existing investment strategies can help create groundbreaking new socially useful portfolios.