Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)

My Lords, I have added my name to Amendment 170 and will speak briefly in support. The noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, has comprehensively set out the amendment and, following very helpful feedback from my noble friend the Minister, I will simply respond to a few points which were made by other Peers in Committee. It was suggested that the UK is a small player in thermal coal and will not make a difference. We actually have the largest volume of pension assets in Europe and the third largest globally. There is no limitless demand for high-risk assets, so were the UK pension sector to sharply lower its exposure, this would not lead to a rush for companies that everyone knows to have a limited lifespan. As was said: “It seems absolutely bonkers that new money is going into new coal mines”.—[Official Report, 23/2/26; col. GC 285.] It does not make sense in terms of protecting the environment, and it does not make sense economically to invest in stranded assets. These investments are not only in equities but in bonds. The effect of buying equities on the secondary market may not be instant but, over the long term, it is likely to support the reduction in the cost of borrowing or increase the returns on equity funding. This ultimately supports more investment. The Transition Pathway Initiative, established by the LSE, has assessed the decarbonisation plans of the top coalmining firms. After two decades or more of engagement, none is remotely close to being aligned with the Paris agreement and, as was admitted, opportunities for future company-level engagement are strictly limited by the threat of litigation in the US. Indeed, the suggestion that an exit strategy from thermal coal inevitably means exit from tobacco, sugar or energy-using forms is scaremongering. We should judge the amendment on the basis of what it does. As the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, said, Amendment 170 does not require an exit from anything. It seeks only to give government the tools to monitor and manage a risk that it has quite rightly admitted that it does not currently have a handle on. Risk management is a core part of fiduciary duty on investments which have been variously judged by my noble friends as carrying high financial and climate risk. Every child deserves to breathe clean air. I look forward to hearing from my noble friend the Minister. I am extremely grateful for her genuine engagement so far about the Government’s plans for further action in this area.