The Hackney Green Party is deeply disappointed in tonight decision by Hackney Council Pension Fund to refuse to divest fully from fossil fuels.
Whilst we applaud the Council's pensions committee for having taken this issue so seriously over the last two years, we are deeply frustrated by the outcome of their deliberations.
To avoid catastrophic global warming, we know that almost all the known reserves of fossil fuels must remain in the ground. To invest in oil, coal and gas is to profit from the ruin of our planet.
Indeed, climate change is already affecting the lives of millions of people across the world, and, in the long run, threatens to undermine global economic and political stability.
If Hackney is to have any credibility on this issue, it must take a stronger stance – it should divest from the top 200 oil, coal and companies by 2022. After all the work it has done, it is astounding that it has fallen at the final hurdle.
Instead of dithering, they could adopt a comprehensive approach that could add credibility and rigour to the decisions of Waltham Forest and Southwark south of the river – as well as the hundreds of institutions across the world, including the British Medical Association, The Guardian, the Rockefeller Foundation and others.