Calderdale Council has agreed to formally request the West Yorkshire Pension Fund – from which local authority staff in the region are paid their pensions – divests from “fossil fuel” companies.
After a debate on which councillors were split, the ruling Labour group, also supported by the Liberal Democrats, agreed to endorse Cabinet’s decision that the council Leader, Coun Tim Swift (Lab, Town) and Chief Executive Robin Tuddenham jointly write to the Chief Operating Officer of West Yorkshire Pension Fund to request that it divest of their fossil fuels investment within three years, and to invest instead in alternatives such as green energy that are expected to offer returns over the long term.