Climate campaigners climbed onto to the roof of a council headquarters today in their bid to end pension fund investment in fossil fuels.

Members of Extinction Rebellion South East unfurled a banner at East Sussex County Council offices in Lewes saying: “ESCC: Which side are you on? Fossil fuels or climate action”.

Campaigners from Divest East Sussex handed in a letter addressed to the council leader, Keith Glazier, calling on the council to act.

Today’s action is part of a 10 years of opposition to the council’s pension fund investments. But it was the first time that Divest East Sussex and Extinction Rebellion have officially campaigned together.

East Sussex County Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 but has refused to divest from fossil fuels. It currently holds more than £28m in fossil fuel investments, XR said.

The council had been due to vote in June 2024 on a report, which appeared to support the case for divestment. The vote has been postponed until September 2024, reportedly because more analysis was needed.

Divest East Sussex joint coordinator, Gabriel Carlyle, from St Leonards, said:

“We have written to councillors. We’ve asked to meet with them. We’ve peacefully protested again and again. We’ve lobbied, we’ve pleaded, we’ve begged. None of it has worked. So we’ve decided to be less polite.

“Last year the Fund spent £55,000 of public money on a report which appeared to show that divestment would have no negative repercussions for the Fund and be straightforward to implement. Yet a vote on divestment was delayed, citing the need for further analysis.

“It’s time for the Fund to start taking the climate crisis seriously, stop its endless foot-dragging, and vote now to stop investing in fossil fuels.”

Extinction Rebellion South East campaigner, Mark Engineer, from Barcombe, said today’s action was “just the start”. He said:

“There’s more to come if we don’t see meaningful action. We’ll continue to take non-violent direct action against ESCC until they do the right thing and divest.”

He said it would be a “game-changer” if Conservative-controlled East Sussex county Council decided to divest.

“If the Council is really serious, divestment is the only serious option.

“So, I would say to ESCC – keep going, you’re so nearly there! And also that, if you don’t keep going, you are letting yourself in for a lot more trouble.”

East Sussex County Council said on its website that less than 2% of the money in the pension fund was invested in fossil fuel companies and this continues to reduce. It said:

“The Pensions Committee believes that engagement rather than blanket divestment from oil and gas companies is the most effective way to reduce global carbon emissions.

“Engagement means the Fund can be an active owner and steward of its investments: driving positive change in companies while retaining governance and oversight of how its investments are used.”

DrillOrDrop has closed the comments section on this and future articles. We are doing this because of the risk of liability for copyright infringement in comments. We still want to hear about your reaction to DrillOrDrop articles. You can contact us by clicking here.