By asking for accountability and responsibility from our pension fund directors when it comes to climate change and responsible investment strategies, we are tying our fight for pensions with the planet. As such, we are inserting ourselves in the well-established, fast-evolving climate litigation movement.
In addition though, our legal action is highly novel: by pursuing a derivative claim, i.e. acting as shareholders of the pension scheme, and taking directors themselves to court, we are setting a legal precedent in the UK.
Recently, ClientEarth has announced a similar action against Shell, which makes use of the same derivative claim as us, in the goal of for the first time holding directors of a fossil fuels company directly accountable for their failure to move away from fossil fuels.
As they indicate, ‘We’re going to court against Shell’s Board of Directors for failing to move away from fossil fuels fast enough. This is the first ever case of its kind seeking to hold corporate directors personally liable’.
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Save pensions and the planet 