Over 130 UK Lawmakers Sign Letter Asking Pension Fund to Turn Away From Fossil Fuels

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - More than 130 members of the UK Parliament signed a cross-party letter to the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) asking it to divert from investing in fossil fuel companies.

"We believe you must go a step further, divesting from the fossil fuel industry in its entirety, as quickly as possible. Without this, our pensions are contributing to temperatures rising above 1.5°C [2.7 degrees Fahrenheit]. If this limit is exceeded, then by the time younger members are old enough to draw our pensions, a full-blown climate catastrophe will have struck, with ice caps melted, food systems collapsed and deadly extreme weather becoming the norm," the lawmakers' letter, due to be delivered later on Monday said, the Guardian reported.

In March 2020, a report from the PCPF showed that the organization had cut back on investment in the fossil fuels industry and saw almost a third of its assets go toward low carbon and eco-friendly funds, however, lawmakers stress that more needs to be done to ensure their pensions will not be funding a climate disaster.

"Let us get our house in order by aligning our pension investments with a green and prosperous zero-carbon future that helps to contain global heating to below 1.5°C. The world’s eyes are on us. It is time that we show true leadership and divest parliament from the fossil fuel industry," the politicians' letter said, which was signed by 132 members of parliament.

The letter was signed as part of the Divest Parliament campaign which works with members of parliament to ask the PCPF to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy and has been backed by 360 current and former lawmakers so far.

The UK is currently hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which focuses on boosting international efforts in reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the summit, the parties are expected to pass some agreements to lower greenhouse emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.