FIGURES have come to light suggesting Wiltshire Council invested £92m in companies with reputations for contributing to climate change during the 2013/2014 financial year.

According to data compiled by 350.org, a campaign against climate change, following a Freedom Of Information request, £92,706,609.90 of a £1.5bn pot of money administered by the Wiltshire Pension Fund was invested in companies associated with contributing to climate change for the financial year 2013/2014.

The companies include BHP Billiton Finance Ltd, Petrobras Global Finance and Rio Tinto.

Wiltshire Pension Fund operates Wiltshire Council’s pension scheme and a spokesman for the pension fund did not dispute the figures but said it currently has no direct investments in fossil fuel companies.

“The figures published are out of date and the fund currently has no direct investment in fossil fuel companies,” he said.

And he added that only £64m (3.5 per cent) of its £1.8bn of assets are indirectly invested in pooled mandates which track an index (e.g. FTSE All Share).

He said that while the fund has an obligation to ensure maximum returns on investments, it is expected to take social, ethical and environmental considerations into account.

“The fund has a duty to maximise investment returns to close its funding deficit and employs the best investment managers to do this,” he said.

“They are expected to account for social, environmental and ethical considerations when investing as it impacts on the long term shareholder value.”

“The fund also uses its position as shareholder to engage on the issues of carbon emission targets and climate change in the companies in which it invests through its collaboration work with the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum.”

On average, UK local authorities have invested £218 in fossil fuels for every resident, prompting 350.org to urge people to consider Wiltshire Council’s impact on the environment.

Campaigner Danni Paffard said: “This is the first time the council’s full share portfolio has been made public. This should be a real wake up call for councils in Wiltshire to divest taxpayers’ money from fossil fuels.

“Not only are they contributing to the effects of climate change, but they are putting people’s pensions at risk when the financial community is sceptical about channelling money into fossil fuel companies.

“Oxford and Bristol city councils have already taken a lead in making fossil-free commitments. Councils in Wiltshire should now follow by reinvesting their funds in building new homes and investing in clean renewable energy and public transport.”

Research suggests 80 per cent of fossil fuel reserves need to remain in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change. A report earlier this month by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact research found that burning all fossil fuels will melt the entire Antarctic ice-sheet causing oceans to rise by 50 metres.

To view the data for yourself, visit gofossilfree.org/uk/pensions.