Agenda item

To receive any questions or petitions.

Notes:

1.  The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (12 December 2022).

2.  The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (9 December 2022).

3.  The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

There were five questions from five members of the public.  The questions and the responses were published as a supplement to the agenda.  Supplementary questions and responses included:

1.    Lindsey Coeur-Belle asked on behalf of Janice Baker: when will the achievements / outcomes of engagement be available, and can you please provide an example of a successful outcome.

The Chairman said that the TCFD report was published on the website. The LGPS Senior Officer added that successful outcomes from engagement were ongoing and that it was difficult to give a specific example. The Senior Officer further added that it was likely something that the Committee would consider as part of the Responsible Investment Policy (RI).

2.    Jennifer Condit provided a summary of her question and the response received and stated that she wished the response included more detail relate to AIG. The Chairman stated that officers had very recently received some further information on AIG from BCPP and so they would consider the information and then any appropriate detail would be passed on as a further written response. The Chairman also confirmed that the follow-up response would be circulated to Members and included within the meeting’s minutes.

The response provided outside the meeting was:

In terms of specifics regarding AIG, BCPP contacted the external manager that holds the position and received the following response. ‘AIG have not released any public statements either saying that they are involved in the EACOP project or committing not to be involved with it. The manager engaged with the management team and CEO of AIG to determine the company’s position on this project and believe that AIG is not involved in the EACOP project, although they are waiting on formal confirmation from the company on this matter.’

Jennifer Condit asked whether there would ever be the opportunity for residents to raise particular matters of concern, irrespective of agreed themes, with management. The Chairman said that officers would do their best to explore topics of concern and provide responses as appropriate.

The Chairman reminded the committee that there was no debate during the question and answer session. Cllr Williams stated that he felt there should be better transparency around where investments were made, and especially with companies aligned with the 1.5c temperature rise. The chairman said that it would be appropriate to raise this issue during the item related to engagement, and that Members were welcome to contact the Chairman, or officers, outside the meeting to raise any concerns.

3.    Jennifer Condit asked on behalf of Kevin Clarke: whether the committee would consider a proposal which included asking the committee to close fossil fuel holdings on the same schedule as BCPP. Jennifer Condit stated that she would provide the full proposal to officers for their consideration.

The Chairman agreed to receive the proposal for consideration. The LGPS Senior Officer further added that they agreed with the principals of transparency, and the Pension Team would consider the proposals and then provide a response.

4.    Lindsey Coeur-Belle stated: that she was pleased to see an evidence based approach being used however was shocked to see that BCPP’s climate change policy was based on the IPCC’s report in 2018 which was four years old. Lindsey Coeur-Belle asked if the committee would use the latest evidence to inform development of its net-zero trajectory, including a recognition that net-zero must include a fossil free portfolio.

The Chairman said that the committee would be developing a net-zero strategy and that the comments made would be taken into consideration.

5.    Trish Kiy asked: please can the committee explain what they define ‘net-zero’ to be, and highlighted that net-zero was only a starting point for achieving zero emissions and was by no means an end point.

The Chairman stated that this was something for the RI Sub-Committee to consider.

The Chairman reminded the committee that there was no debate during the question and answer session.

6.     Lucianna Cole asked: please can you confirm how the date for net-zero would be agreed, and whether the committee would seek outside support from fully knowledgeable and experienced parties.

The Chairman stated the topic would be considered by the RI Sub-Committee and that he was unable to provide further detail at this stage.