Search

UK Clergy Divest of Oil Companies’ Stock

The Anglican Church voted by an absolute majority on Sunday to get rid of the shares of oil and gas companies after 2023. According to the Financial Times, out of 351 voted, only four priests were against.
In accordance with the decision of the General Synod, the bishops and the investment funds associated with the church will disinvest from companies who fail to tackle with climate change.

The Synod in a statement said that the decision was aimed at supporting the Paris Agreement on Climate and that the church should lead the fight against global warming and be a moral leader in this matter.

“We need real world, urgent, practical change to cut carbon emissions dramatically. We all have to embrace that Big Shift away from fossil fuel dependency to embrace new forms of energy as fast as we can,” said Loretta Minghella, First Church Estates Commissioner and Chair of the Commissioners’ Assets Committee.

Oilprice.com reported that initially only the members of the Synod decisively declared to get rid of the fossil companies’ stock by 2020, but then came to the conclusion that until this time the companies with which the church funds are cooperating, in particular, Exxon Mobil, will have time to change their behaviour.

Two months ago, large global investors, representing a combined $10.4 trillion worth of assets under management, urged oil and gas companies to start acting responsibly in tackling climate change.

In 2015, the Anglican Church voted to get rid of shares in coal mining companies.




Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *