The Church Commissioners for England, which manages the Church of England’s £10.3bn endowment fund, has decided to exclude all remaining oil and gas majors from its portfolio, and will exclude all other companies primarily engaged in the exploration, production and refining of oil or gas, unless they are in genuine alignment with a 1.5°C pathway, by the end of 2023.
In 2021, the Church Commissioners excluded 20 oil and gas majors from its investment portfolio. It is now also excluding BP, Ecopetrol, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Pemex, Repsol, Sasol, Shell, and Total, after concluding that none are aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as assessed by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI).
Dr John Appleby, a member of the Newcastle Diocesan Environment Group, has welcomed the news.
He said: "Over the past few years, the Church of England has been trying to use its huge national investments to persuade the oil and gas companies to address the climate crisis. I'm pleased to see that this has now been followed through by insisting agreed targets must be met. The 'oil-can' mustn't be kicked down the road again!
“This diocese already ensures that our own investments do not support fossil-fuel companies, and I believe most parishes do the same.
“Our Diocesan Environment Policy and recently-adopted Energy Action Plan commit us to scrutinising our own carbon-footprint, and to planning ahead to reach our net-zero target - playing our part in this crucial effort to maintain the gift of Creation."
The Diocesan Working Group Action Plan and Environmental Policy were adopted at Diocesan Synod on 16th July. These will be made available in due course.
Here’s a link to the national story, which includes a response from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, who is also Chair of the Church Commissioners for England.
Image: Unsplash / Pawel Czerwinski