YORK councillors could pull public money out of fossil fuels, even though the city's stockbroker council leader said doing so would be impossibly complex.

Even though City of York Council has no direct investments in oil, gas or coal, councillors pledged on Thursday night to look at ways of pulling pension pot money out of fossil fuel companies.

Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat councillors all backed the motion, which also included a push for lower carbon emissions across the city council.

Cllr Andrew Waller, who put the original motion forward, said: "House by house we need to become more energy efficient and become responsible for the resources we use in our daily lives, recognising that we have only one planet to provide for us."

He said York should become the greenest city in the North, with the council aiming to push recycling rates to more than 50 percent, and re-establishing a Green Jobs Task Force.

Green councillors Denise Craghill added the divestment push in an amendment to that motion.

With around seven percent of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund in fossil fuels, she said she wanted the Audit and Governance committee at City of York to consider a commitment to no more fossil fuel investments.

Council leader Chris Steward - who works as a stockbroker - said it would be impossible to pull all the money in the North Yorkshire Pension Scheme out of fossil fuel related investments.

"I am sure this is entirely well meaning but you are not going to be able to change the North Yorkshire Pension Fund," he said, adding that trying to would be "an absolute nightmare."

His argument was criticised by Labour's Cllr Stuart Barnes, who has himself started a petition on fossil fuel divestment due to be presented to council later in the year.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Craghill added: "I'm delighted the amendment met with the support it deserved, and I am pleased that soon the investments of our workers and citizens put aside for their future could be finally invested in their future. Eighty percent of known reserves of fossil fuels have to be left in the ground if we are to avert catastrophic climate change so it makes sound economic sense to shift our focus to investing in renewables and energy saving investment."