Caymans Post

A world within. A state apart.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

'Red alert': Billions of UK pension money driving deforestation, says Richard Curtis

'Red alert': Billions of UK pension money driving deforestation, says Richard Curtis

"There can be no action on climate change without tackling deforestation," says Richard Curtis, as research finds two of every ten pounds invested in an average pension is driving forest loss.

Filmmaker Richard Curtis has warned that the pensions industry should be "put on red alert," as a new report says billions of UK savers' money is driving deforestation.

In Great Britain £2 in every £10 invested in an average pension is linked to forest loss, amounting to some £300 billion of UK pension money, according to research shared exclusively with Sky News.

"This is bad for the planet, risky for returns and goes against the values of UK savers," said Mr Curtis, the 'Notting Hill' and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' screenwriter, who co-founded campaign group Make My Money Matter (MMMM).

Globally 30 football pitches' worth of forest are cut down every minute, according to World Resources Institute. Forests regulate climate, provide food, work, water and shelter and absorb and store the climate-heating gas carbon dioxide.

"There can be no action on climate change without tackling deforestation," Mr Curtis told Sky News.

Forest loss exacerbates the biodiversity and climate crises


'We're all linked'


The majority of that deforestation is driven by markets that need commodities from forested land, such as palm oil, soy and beef cattle, according to the joint report from MMMM, Global Canopy and Systemiq.

"So we're all linked in to a global deforestation economy, be it through food or fashion," Global Canopy executive director Niki Mardas told Sky News.

The report points the finger at the financial industry for funding those markets via its pension funds. Mr Mardas says the report's use of language such as "linked to" or "at high risk of" forest loss is because it is difficult to get accurate numbers from "an industry that doesn't offer much transparency".

He claims the figure of £300 billion is likely an underestimate, as they only analysed the certain parts of high risk sectors, and called for better reporting by pension funds.

Nigel Peaple from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association said the methodology "relies upon a number of assumptions and generalisations" that make the £300bn figure "very difficult to assert reliably".

Mr Peaple said pension schemes were more selective in screening out companies with poor sustainability records than the analysis suggested, and that they agreed companies with poor environmental records were not well performing long term investments.

Brazilian indigenous activist, environmentalist and politician Sônia Bone Guajajara.


'A world you will want to retire into'


Campaigners want the pension industry to use its "enormous power" to drive change by committing to deforestation free investments, as well as improving transparency.

As for savers, greening one's pension is "probably the single most powerful step each of us can take to cut our carbon footprint," according to Mr Mardas. He called on those with pensions to ask their providers where their money was going, and to tell their employers how they wanted their savings invested.

Sônia Bone Guajajara, Brazilian indigenous activist and politician, said British savers "have power to help save the forests, the power to help protect Mother Earth, and to protect the lives of all who live on the planet.

She urged people to "use your voice to change the way your pension is invested" to create a "world that you will actually want to retire into".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Caymans Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×