Sue Luxton, Green Party Councillor for Ladywell Ward, Lewisham, used presentations from Fairpensions and LAPFF (Local Authority Pensions Fund Forum) to persuade her committee to agree to join the LAPFF and to conduct a survey of pension fund members’ views on ethical investment issues. 39 other local authority pension funds are already in LAPFF, with investments of £70bn between them, and their mission is “to promote the investment interests of local authority pension funds, and to maximise their influence as shareholders whilst promoting corporate social responsibility and high standards of corporate governance amongst the companies in which they invest”. There is a best practice guide for pension fund trustees on the fairpensions website.
www.fairpensions.org.uk
Councils Invest in BAE
Research published by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) reveals that 75 local authorities in the UK hold investments in BAE Systems through their pension funds. CAAT used the Freedom of Information Act to question all local authority pension funds, which between them own shares in BAE worth over £300million. At the top of the list is West Yorkshire Pension Fund, with £27.9m in BAE. It is followed by West Midlands (£16.8m), Strathclyde (£11.5m), Kent (£11.2m) and Aberdeen (£10.6m). Many councils also hold investments in other arms companies, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
London Green Budget
The most recent GLA budget for 2007/8 shows the impact of the Greens in the assembly.2004/5 was the last budget where the Mayor and Labour had total control and did not need Green support to get it through. Now the Mayor can only get his budget passed if he accepts Green proposals. The figures show the impact:-
(2004/5) Cycling budget: £13.1m £36.0m (2007/8).
(2004/5) Travel demand management budget: £8.65m £30.0m (2007/8).
(2004/5) Walking budget: £6.8m £14.7m (2007/8).
(2004/5) Climate change budget: £0.105m £12.1m (2007/8).
UK Greenhouse Emissions rise by 1.2 % and are at their highest level since 1997
A new WWF report, Climate Solutions: WWF’s Vision for 2050, details how to turn this around but warns there is only five years left to start the process. Download from http://tinyurl.com/2j6u2v
Planning white paper reduces local democracy
Major new developments including nuclear power stations and airport runways could be forced through as part of a major overhaul of planning in the UK, leaving local people with little or no say in how their area is developed, Friends of the Earth is warning. Under the proposals in the White Paper, Planning for a Sustainable Future, central Government will issue national statements of policy which will give the green light to site specific projects considered to be of national importance. A consultation on the proposals is taking place until 17 August.
A critical review of Biofuels
Biofuels are given extensive coverage in the latest version of www.eastjournal.co.uk. You can also read about Modec, an all electric van that provides a clean alternative for white van man.
Natural England report on climate change and biodiversity
The new report from Natural England illustrates potential impacts of climate change on some of our most rare or threatened species. The Monarch report uses different projected levels of greenhouse gas emissions to the 2080s to model the effect of climate change on 120 rare species. Download the full report at http://tinyurl.com/2bwdez
London emissions limits breached
London Assembly member, Darren Johnson, has released figures showing that numerous sites across London are in breach of the UK safe limits for nitrogen dioxide and ozone, both toxic gases known to aggravate various respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Air pollution reduces the life expectancy of every person in the UK by an average of eight months and the pollution levels in London are far higher than in most of the country. Darren’s research was backed up with calls for continued traffic reduction, an end to road building and more investment in public transport, cycling and walking.
Iraq - counting the cost
The BBC has reported that the UK government’s own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health study on Iraq civilian mortality was robust and reliable (see www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2043417,00.html. This paper was published last October and estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American- and British-led invasion in March 2003.
Amnesty International has warned that the Middle East is on the verge of a new humanitarian crisis unless the European Union, US and other states take urgent and concrete measures to assist the more than three million people forcibly displaced by the conflict in Iraq. Meanwhile reports indicate that conditions in Iraq are worsening, with hospitals in Baghdad offering little more than first aid - see http://tinyurl.com/34nj92. The Iraq war will soon cost more than $500 billion. Source: www.truthout.org
Energy Watch
The global information and communications technology industry accounts for approximately two per cent of global CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to that of the aviation industry according to vnunet.com. More at http://tinyurl.com/2ym2bk
Solar power generation increased by 50% in 2006 to 5000 megawatts. New manufacturing capacity will see costs of PV fall by around 40% in the next three years. Source: Worldwatch Institute
Biodiversity
BirdLife International’s annual Red List update states that 1,221 species are considered threatened with extinction and are to be listed as such on the 2007 IUCN Red List. Habitat loss, conversion and degradation is the principal threat affecting 86 per cent of the world’s globally-threatened birds. More at www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html
Greenpeace says Indonesia has the highest annual rate of deforestation in the world. Greenpeace campaigners say 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of forest was destroyed each year between 2000-2005. The group is urging the Indonesian government to impose a temporary ban on commercial logging in natural forests nationwide.
The United Nations Forum on Forests has reached a landmark agreement to protect the world’s forests. The non-legally binding agreement is the first of its kind. It aims to set international standards for forest management by promoting national action to prevent and reduce deforestation. The agreement also aims to cut poverty among the 1.6 billion people dependent on forests for their livelihoods. More at www.interworldradio.net
Greens Online
Watch Derek Wall debate with David Frost at
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l6kS8o2thts
Watch Shahrar Ali speak on Doughty TV about an eclectic mixture of topics at http://tinyurl.com/yqztwg
Listen to and read about the last Climate Change Conference at http://uk.oneworld.net/
Listen to ‘Wake Up’, a song about environmental degradation at www.robgordon.ca/CD_Songs.html
Watch World Statistics updated in real time at www.worldometers.info
