Santa visits BT

Santa visits BT and exposes coal investment
2 December 2009

This morning a team of Santa's arrived at the BT offices in Bristol Temple Quay to expose the truth behind the companies pension scheme. BT pensions are funding coal mining in South Wales, where Merthyr Tydfil hosts one of Europe's largest opencast coal mines.

Santa writes: BT Pension Scheme owns a company called Hermes who own Argent, of Miller-Argent fame - the company who operate the mine. Staff pension money is secretly being spent on coal mining.

No wonder it came as a surprise when Santa came to visit... Santa and his helpers descended upon offices after finding out that BT pension schemes are paying for the massive mining operation at Ffos-y-Fran near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales - one of Europe’s largest open cast coal mines. The mystery people in red say they are raising the issue with BT workers, letting them know where their pension money is being invested.

The bemused staff seemed happy to be greeted by the singing santas as they arrived for work, but looked concerned with the news of their employers dirty investments.

A jovial woman clutching a handful of Christmas cards said “with the climate talks in Copenhagen coming up, the world’s eyes will be on politicians struggling to come to terms with the threat of climate change.

We want the employees to know that their money is being invested in coal mining in Wales, worsening the effects of climate change. It is up to them to hold BT accountable for their actions”

The Ffos-y-Fran mine is less than 40 metres from the nearest homes and residents lives are blighted with noise, dust and pollution. Merthyr Tydfil was the site of the Climate Camp in Wales earlier this year, supporting local residents who have been fighting against the mining operations.

Santa and his helpers handed out Christmas cards and sung carols to people as they arrived for work today, explaining why they have come to visit.

“Coal is the most climate wrecking way to produce energy. Really, if we want to stop the worst effects of climate change we need to stop digging it out of the ground and invest in green technologies instead”

“I’m here because I’m seriously worried about my home back in the Arctic” said Sam, one of the Santa’s. “With predicted temperature rises, we’ll become refugees and the reindeer are notoriously fussy about where they live”.

Email - info@climatecampcymru.org

Notes:

• BT are linked to coal in the following way-BT own BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) who in turn own a company called Hermes who administer the BT pension fund. Hermes bought the development group Argent (of Miller-Argent) who run the mine at Merthyr Tydfil.
• Ffos-y-Fran, located next to Merthyr Tydfil, is one of the biggest coal mines Wales has ever seen. Over the 15 year lifetime of this new opencast mine, more than 10.8 million tonnes of coal will be extracted. Burning this will release 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – at the same rate each year as the entire country of Mozambique!
• Local people have been opposing the mine for years. More than 10,000 people signed a petition opposing the mine. Despite this amazing level of opposition, the Welsh Assembly Government, encouraged by Westminster, gave the go-ahead to the mine.
• Climate Camp Cymru is Wales’ Camp for Climate Action – inspired by the Climate Camp movement taking action on climate change in the UK and worldwide. The Camp is committed to education, sustainable living and supporting direct action against the root causes of climate change.
• Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel there is – responsible for 50% of the CO2 added to the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and 40% of CO2 emissions globally. Enough of it remains in the ground, if burned, to take us to a substantially different planet from the one we know today - and which has existed throughout all of human history.

Related Link: Climate Camp Cymru