Divest T&W newsletter: Jan23

NEWSLETTER
January 2023
SPECIAL EDITION
Divest Tyne & Wear is a campaign by local citizens
to end investment in fossil fuels by local councils
and organisations to fund pensions.
PROTECT OUR PLANET - DEMAND DIVESTMENT!
Thank you to everyone who has joined the growing number of supporters
demanding divestment from fossil fuels. Hundreds of organisations have
divested – we don’t want our local council tax and local pensions to buck
that trend and be spent causing untold damage to our planet and all our
futures.
Tyne & Wear Pension Fund’s £230m investment in oil, gas and coal is
incompatible with our Paris Agreement commitment to keep temperature
rises below 1.5 degrees centigrade. COP27 heard that Planet Earth is
heating up so quickly that we may pass that target in less than a decade.
Many of our families, workmates and neighbours don’t even know their
money is being spent on fuelling climate breakdown. With your help, our
campaign is ending the secrecy and silence!
GATESHEAD COUNCIL CHALLENGE TO PENSION INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS!
Campaign supporters now lobbying five more local councils
Gateshead Council has become the first in the Tyne & Wear Pension Fund
to challenge the fund’s policy of investing in fossil fuels until 2050. A copy
of its letter can be seen here.
And it doesn’t end there. The great news is that all supporters of ending
investment in fossil fuels can all stand on the shoulders of this fantastic
example!
Whether we live near the Scottish Borders or south of the Tyne, every one
of us can use this breakthrough to push for the same progress with our
own councils. These three links to the Gateshead Council letter and
documents outline how you – and your climate-concerned contacts – can
do just that.
• Campaign member Lesley’s letter to you includes info, plus
offer to assist you if you’d like to follow up in your area
• Draft template letter that you can send
• Copy of Gateshead Council’s letter

NEWSLETTER
January 2023
MEET DIVEST TYNE & WEAR CAMPAIGNERS
DROP-IN SOCIAL: Saturday 4 th Feb from 13.30 (until approx. 15.30)
5 Quarter Café, Common Room, Westgate Rd, Newcastle
(was Mining Institute)
Coffee, chat, suggestions, questions …
Find out more about the campaign and UK Day of Action and
how you can be involved.
More info on our Facebook event page https://fb.me/e/28t6Mk4TU
TERRI TELLS US WHY SHE WANTS TO STOP FOSSIL FUEL INVESTMENT
“I’m proud of my grandchildren’s love of nature and the environment and
of the actions they’re taking to protect endangered animals and to combat
the climate emergency. I feel ashamed that I‘ve enjoyed my time on earth
without much thought about my role in its destruction and the state I’ll be
leaving it in for Maya, Amélie and Isla and their generation.
I’ve now woken up to the urgent need to reverse climate change and my
responsibility to make this happen. I believe everyone’s small changes
can collectively make a difference in holding large companies and
corporations to account, and that’s why I’m committed to supporting the
Divest campaign. As the message on Isla’s t-shirt says: be part of the
solution, not part of the pollution!”
DIARY DATES
UK DAY OF ACTION ON DIVESTMENT – FRI 24 th MARCH 2023
Join our protests around Tyne, Wear and Northumberland – to find out more, join us on
4 th Feb or email Olwyn. If poss, mention which local area(s) are best for you on that date
- it’ll help with the planning.
BOOKS/MEDIA – sharing local campaigner recommendations
Ending Fossil Fuels Why Net Zero is Not Enough – author Holly Jean Buck
Email Helen if you’d like to share her copy or e-version.
Superb radio interview with Bill McKibben!
"Let's get our energy from the heavens, not from hell".

NEWSLETTER
January 2023
HOW YOU CAN STRENGTHEN OUR CAMPAIGN
Volunteer vacancy (Media) – have you got the experience and time to
strengthen our campaign’s social media team? If you could help with Divest’s
e-newsletter, website, or Facebook, or broaden our media to Instagram or
Twitter, we’d love to hear from you!
Volunteer vacancy (Local Contacts) – with growing supporter
numbers, it can help on occasions to have a contact point in each of our six
Local Authority areas.
If you’d like to find out more about volunteering,
email Olwyn for further details.
OUR PETITION TO STOP INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS
Please spread far and wide! Just takes a couple of minutes to sign and share. Link here.
If any of your contacts need convincing, this video helps explain the reasons why this matters so much.
Click for Video
MORE INFORMATION
Divest Tyne & Wear website
Facebook page
Divest UK website
Find out if your school, university, employer, local theatre and more are amongst the
300+ organisations that use Tyne & Wear Pension Fund