Shire of Mundaring to investigate divesting from fossil fuel lending banks

SHIRE of Mundaring will look at investing with non-fossil fuel lending banks after council approved a review of its investments policy last month.

Eleven councils in WA have already divested, including the cities of Bayswater and Swan.

WA’s biggest council, City of Stirling, formally endorsed divestment in May 2016 after a decade of successfully investing 70 per cent of its funds in fossil fuel free banks.

In 2015 Mundaring in Transition member Jenny Currell called on the Shire to investigate fossil fuel free banks where a comparable return on investment was available.

“Since then through Mundaring in Transition and with assistance from 350.org, we have worked with council and staff to have the shire’s investment policy amended,” she said.

“It is one small act that local citizens can undertake and we are pleased to now have the new investment policy approved by council.”

Ms Currell said fossil fuel divestment took the industry to task for its role in the climate crisis.

“Around the world concerned citizens are pressuring their churches, universities, superannuation funds and local councils to move their financial investments away from institutions that support the fossil fuel industry,” she said.

“Globally, 500 institutions representing funds of US$5.2 trillion, have committed to making sure money is not invested in fossil fuels.

“This includes Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (the largest in the world) and universities, such as ANU, Oxford and Stanford.

“These actions are not intended to stop the coal, oil or gas industries but to slowly remove their social license to continue polluting.”

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