The Anglican Church will exclude all large oil and gas companies from its investment portfolio, as they are not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis, the entity that manages the funds has announced.
The Church Commissioners for England, who manage the 12 billion euro endowment fund for the Anglican Church (also called the Church of England and Wales), had already removed 20 companies from its list of financial assets two years ago.
This Friday, the body announced that it will discard “all the remaining oil and gas companies” and others in the sector, if they do not meet the goals established by the 2015 Paris climate agreements by the end of the year, objectives that are far from being met, they will implemented, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
In this way, the Church will divest its shares in BP, Ecopetrol, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Pemex, Repsol, Sasol, Shell and Total.
None of these companies “are in line with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement,” the Church of England said in a statement.
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of Anglicans, stressed that Christians have “a duty to protect God’s creation.”
“Companies in the energy sector have a special responsibility to help us make the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said the archbishop, who was also an oil company executive.
“There have been advances, but they are far from being enough. The Church will follow not only science, but also faith, which she calls us to work for climate justice”, she concluded.
Alan Smith, who is one of the commissioners in charge of managing the church’s funds, emphasized that the divestment from these companies was not a decision “taken lightly.”
This official assured that the Church is ready to reconsider its decision, if the requested criteria are met.
The Reverend Darrell Hannah, who chairs “Operation Noah”, a group that defended this decision by the Anglican Church, assured that the resolution sends “a shock wave through the world” and should encourage many others to do the same.
“Left to their own devices, these companies might as well unleash hell on earth to cash in on their 30 pieces of silver,” said Charlie Kronick, a consultant for the environmental organization, referring to the price of Judas’ betrayal.
For Kronick, the government should “stop rolling out the red carpet” for the fossil fuel giants “and stop licensing new oil and gas projects immediately.”
The Christian Aid association also pointed out that this decision is a “strong denunciation of the damage that these companies are causing in the world.”
Source: TSF
