We Must Believe That The World Can Be Different:
Welsh Pensions and Deforestation
We must believe that the world can be different.
This comes from the foreword to the recently published ‘Saving for the future: A report into Wales’ public pension exposure to global deforestation’.Â
It is a specific call on Wales and the rest of the world to act to ensure that investments in pension funds are not driving the destruction of the home of the Guarani people in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest – of which only 12% remains intact.
The report is published by climate change charity and Cynnal Cymru member Size of Wales, and Global Canopy, a data-driven not-for-profit that uses clear metrics and actionable insights to help organisations make better decisions about nature, forests, and people.Â
The report highlights how a handful of commodities including beef and soy are devastating indigenous lands and communities, not least through the massive use of pesticides – many of which have been banned in the Global North due to their impact on other animals, water, soil and human health. The report’s launch event on 28 November highlighted the extent to which indigenous lands have been converted or confined between plantations often preceded or accompanied by human rights abuses.
The report then makes the uncomfortable link between these destructive practices and Welsh pension funds, which can directly impact deforestation through the sectors and industries that they invest in. The report looks at the eight Local Government Pension Schemes that make up the Wales Pension Partnership. It finds that at least 10% of investments made by the eight funds are at a high risk of financing deforestation – equivalent to £2.6 billion across the partnership. When the descriptor is changed from ‘high risk’ to ‘likely exposed to deforestation’, the figure changes to 45%, equivalent to more than £11 billion.
There is therefore an enormous opportunity for Welsh pension funds to drive change.
The report sets out a clear step by step methodology for doing so.Â
If your organisation wants to act on this or other deforestation risks, you can take the first step today by joining the Size of Wales movement to make Wales a Deforestation-Free Nation.