In an open letter entitled “For sustainable pensions: ending support for fossil fuel expansion”, 11 civil society organizations, including Reclaim Finance, are calling on three French pension bodies – Agirc-Arrco (the supplementary pension scheme for private-sector employees), ERAFP (the scheme for civil servants), and the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites – to stop supporting the development of fossil fuels. Almost a year after the revelation of these institutions’ continued fossil fuel investments in a recent report published by Reclaim Finance, the signatories point out that the current practices of these institutions are exacerbating climate change, whilst exposing their portfolios to growing climate-related financial risks. In particular, the support given to TotalEnergies – a symbol of France’s dependence on fossil fuels – is a cause for concern, as the company has recently taken several steps backwards on climate action. The signatories of the letter call on pension bodies to adopt concrete and immediate measures to protect their beneficiaries from the impacts of climate change, both now and in the long term.
