LONDON: The body in charge of the Church of England’s multibillion-pound endowment fund announced on Thursday that it would exclude all oil and gas companies from its investment portfolio.
Two years ago, the Church Commissioners for England, which manages the £10.3 billion ($13.2-billion) fund, removed 20 companies from its list of financial assets. It has now stated that it will bar “all remaining oil and gas majors” and others from the sector unless they meet the 2015 Paris Climate Accord by the end of this year. The Church will divest its holdings in BP, Ecopetrol, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Pemex, Repsol, Sasol, Shell, and Total as a result of the decision.
According to the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), none are linked with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chair of the Church Commissioners for England, said Christians have a “duty to protect God’s creation.”
Welby, a former oil company executive, added, that energy companies have a special responsibility to help them achieve the just transition to the low-carbon economy that they need. There has been some development, but not nearly enough. The Church will follow not only science but also our religion, which both ask us to strive for climate justice.”
First Church Estates Commissioner Alan Smith said the decision to divest was “unlikely,” but that energy companies had been too slow to act. He went on to say that if any of these energy companies came into harmony with their criteria in the future, they would reconsider their position, which they would hope for.
