Olivia Colman stars as sinister ‘Big Oil’ CEO in Make My Money Matter campaign

By Rupert Cole on Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman takes centre stage as ‘Oblivia Coalmine’, a latex-clad oil exec paid for by pensions, in the latest campaign by Make My Money Matter, backed by filmmaker and activist Richard Curtis.

The campaign seeks to empower savers, urging them to align their pensions, investments, and banks with values that contribute to making the world more sustainable. Recent Opinium polling reveals that only 19% of UK pension holders support oil and gas investments, while a substantial 66% favour renewable investments.

Despite growing public sentiment, the UK pension industry lags in addressing the climate crisis. None have committed to ceasing finance for fossil fuel expansion, contradicting guidance from the International Energy Agency aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement’s 1.5 degree warming target.

Olivia Colman’s portrayal of ‘Oblivia Coalmine’ in the video, produced by Lucky Generals, emphasises the industry’s exploitation of unwitting savers, thanking them for inadvertently fuelling profits. The darkly comedic narrative sheds light on the insidious link between UK pensions and the climate emergency, calling for immediate industry action.

Richard Curtis, co-founder of Make My Money Matter, says: “I’ve seen some dark, dystopian characters in my career, and that doesn’t even include Hugh Grant in Love Actually. But I think Oblivia Coalmine is right up there with the worst.

At Make My Money Matter, we hope this sinister performance by Olivia Colman will highlight a more serious issue – that billions of pounds of our hard-earned pensions are driving the climate crisis. People across the UK want their money to help our planet, not harm it, and all our pension schemes must now pay attention and take immediate and urgent action.”

Danny Brooke-Taylor from Lucky Generals said: “The cruel irony is that while we all save for the future, the pension companies are investing in industries that are actively destroying it.”