Pension schemes have called on Barclays to stop offering finances to fossil fuel companies in a shareholder resolution led by ShareAction.

A total of 11 pension and investment funds, including Brunel Pension Partnership, Local Government Pension Scheme Central, Merseyside Pension Fund and Falkirk Council Pension Fund, have urged Barclays to set climate targets and phase out lending to energy companies that do not meet the Paris climate goals.

The group has targeted Barclays as it says it is responsible for $85bn (£65bn) of fossil fuel company investment, which ShareAction says would make it the sixth largest backer of fossil fuels in the world and the biggest in Europe.

Its proposal also “encourages Barclays to consider the social dimension of the transition to a resilient and low-carbon economy.”

It will be voted on by investors at Barclays AGM in May 2020.

Commenting on the proposal, Brunel CEO, Laura Chappell, said: “We believe that it is crucial for investors to carry out climate change risk assessments across the whole financial chain.

"As banks are the biggest lenders, they are a key component of this. The lending practices of many banks poses a serious threat to the goals to the Paris agreement.

"As such, we welcome ShareAction’s call to the world’s largest banks to integrate climate change risk assessment and to set and disclose adequate phase-out targets in response. We hope the Barclays board formally supports this resolution.”

The resolution has also been signed by more than 100 individual shareholders.

ShareAction noted that, since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, 33 of the worlds largest banks have invested around $1.9trn (£1.5trn) into fossil fuel companies.

It added that the adoption of the resolution was “in the interest of the bank” and that is represented a “significant opportunity for Barclays to bring its lending practices in line with global climate ambition”.

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