DIVEST Tyne & Wear campaigners have thanked Northumberland County Council Leader Glen Sanderson and the leaders of the five other local authorities for their willingness to listen after a day of protests across the UK about pension fund investments in fossil fuels.

Letters were delivered to the leaders urging them to work together to end Tyne & Wear Pension Fund’s £238m investment in fossil fuels.

Councillor Sanderson met the rally outside of Northumberland County Hall in Morpeth, which was attended by campaign supporters across the county and addressed by Divest Tyne & Wear organiser Anne-Marie Soulsby.

More than 40 rallies were held across the UK.

Olwyn Hocking, one of the local event organisers, said: “The time has come for pension funds to stop using our council taxes to burn fossil fuels and instead invest in a healthier sustainable future for us all.

"The next generation shouldn’t see their futures harmed because local council pension funds dither about ending nearly £10 billion invested in oil, gas and coal.”

The call from Divest Tyne & Wear came in the week the UN’s latest climate report said net zero must “fast forward” a decade because “the climate time bomb is ticking”.

The UN said the window of opportunity to secure a “liveable future” was closing fast and organisations must act with urgency.

All of the local councils have 2030 deadlines for net zero, yet their pension fund will continue to invest in fossil fuels until 2050, Divest Tyne & Wear has said.