Politicians, students and campaigners from across the borough have joined together on a petition asking the council to divest from fossil fuels.

Over 2,300 people have signed the petition – which was active until yesterday - which must now be subject to full council debate. Any petition which reaches 2,200 signatures has to be put before councillors for discussion.

Signatories include both MP for Tottenham David Lammy and MP for Wood Green Catherine West, as well as students and tutors from the College of Haringey, Enfield and NE London (pictured).

The petition was started by Quentin Given, co-ordinator of the Tottenham and Wood Green branch of environmental charity Friends of the Earth. He told the Tottenham and Wood Green Independent that while the council is looking at this issue, he hoped pressure from residents young and old would make them decide to divest.

He said: “This is part of a growing movement across the country. A large number of local authorities and universities have decided to divest, so now we are asking Haringey Council.

“We want our council to invest in a green future and not in limited resources. The prices of coal and even oil are going down, so there is a strong financial argument as well as a moral one. If they don’t listen our young people will face the worst of it.

“Haringey has taken a good position generally, but now it needs to put its money where its mouth is.

“Will we be listened to? I am not 100 per cent sure, but from what I have seen so far councillors are generally supportive of us. Some have signed the petition, they know there are sound arguments in favour.”

The council has a portion of its £900million pension fund invested in fossil fuel companies. Mr Given said their primary aim was to make the pensions committee take their movement seriously.

He said he has spoken to the chair of the pensions committee, and that the council cabinet has been informed of the petition’s success. He hopes that it will be discussed at the nest meeting of the pensions board on 14 January. He also wants it debated at the full council meeting on February 22.

A Haringey Council spokesperson said: “We welcome the petition and recognise the concerns of many in the local community, and we look forward to seeing this issue discussed at a future meeting of Full Council.

“We have a duty to staff and employers who contribute to and benefit from the council’s pensions scheme, and the law states that pension funds must seek to maximise returns for those who invest in the scheme.

“As already requested by the council’s Pensions Committee, we are researching in greater detail the potential opportunities and impacts of this kind of investment so that we can fully understand any risks or benefits.”