The Church Commissioners and The Church of England Pensions Board last night announced a £12million divestment from thermal coal and tar sands.
National Investing Bodies and transition to a low carbon economy
30 April 2015
The Church Commissioners and The Church of England Pensions Board have today announced the £12million divestment from thermal coal and tar sands.
From today neither body, nor the CBF Church of England funds, will make any direct investments in any company where more than 10% of its revenues are derived from the extraction of thermal coal or the production of oil from tar sands.
This announcement coincides with the adoption of a new climate change policy recommended by the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) that sets out how the three national investing bodies (NIBs) will support the transition to a low carbon economy…
The full policy is here.
Richard Burridge, the deputy chair of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group, writes about the new policy: CofE national investing bodies and transition to low carbon economy.
Press reports
Pilita Clark Financial Times Church of England blacklists coal and tar sands investments
Adam Vaughan The Guardian Church of England ends investments in heavily polluting fossil fuels
Re Ethical climate investment and especially The Guardian article by Adam Vaughan, this is an important decision for C of E investment policy makers. Readers unfamiliar with the Canadian context may be interested to know that the current Canadian Tory government has done everything it can to shut down debate over climate change, including intimidating environmental advocacy not-for–profit groups. The Harper government created a specific line item in the federal budget allocating funds to The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to audit not for profit environmental groups to make sure they are not engaging in “political” activity. Here is one way… Read more »
One suspects that the amount of carbon being expended in the ongoing ‘Shared Conversations’ on Human Sexuality won’t be too devastating for the climate in the Church of England.