Is your pension fuelling the climate crisis?
Greening our pensions is the most powerful thing we can do to protect the planet
There’s £3 trillion in UK pensions – and that’s our money. Right now it’s invested without our say in companies driving deforestation and funding fossil fuels.
But we can change this. Greening our pensions cuts our carbon footprint 21x more than going veggie, giving up flying and switching energy providers.
That’s why we’ve made it easy for you to make your money matter and ranked the UK’s largest pension providers to see how green they really are.
Pensions and Climate Change
The money in UK pensions is currently being invested in companies and practices that are driving the climate crisis.
UK pension schemes invest a staggering £88 billion in fossil fuel companies. That’s £3,000 per pension holder in businesses like Shell and BP. These oil and gas companies are continuing to expand operations and develop new fossil fuels, despite the science being clear this must end. This is bad for people, bad for the planet, and bad for our pensions.
For every £10 you put in your pension, £2 is linked to deforestation. The research shows that from timber to tobacco, mining to manufacturing, our pensions are propping up the very businesses responsible for chopping down 10 million hectares of forests each year.
Our pensions have the potential to invest £1 trillion in climate solutions – like renewable energy – by 2035. This is 50% of the money needed to reach the UK’s 2050 net zero goal, and would not just help the planet, but our wallets too. But we need our pensions, regulators and government to step up and make this happen.
As savers we have power to influence the trillions of pounds in our pension pots towards cleaner, greener, future-proofed investments. After all, what’s the point in retiring in a world on fire?
Climate Action Report 2024
We’ve ranked the top 20 UK pension providers on their climate plans. If you’re not happy with how yours scores, contact them and tell them to up their game on climate. Read the full report here.
Act Now: Use Your Pension Power
Making your pension green is 21x more powerful at cutting your carbon than giving up flying, going veggie and switching energy provider. So why not turbo charge your impact today?
Select your provider from the list below and send them a personalised message on their climate action.