The following is a joint press release by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, Operation Noah, Green Anglicans and GreenFaith.
18 May 2020
For immediate release
UK Contact:
James Buchanan, Operation Noah
james.buchanan@operationnoah.org,
+44 7801 570 653
Faith institutions call for a just
recovery by divesting from fossil fuels
Bailouts and recovery packages
must not empower polluters
As
major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call
for a just economic recovery into practice.
Today,
42 faith institutions from 14 countries announce their divestment from fossil
fuels. This is the largest-ever joint announcement of divestment from fossil
fuels from faith institutions. It comes from institutions in Argentina,
Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy,
Kenya, Myanmar, Spain, the UK, and the United States.
As
governments around the world make substantial investments in an economic
recovery, faith communities urge them to think long term and focus on a
recovery that is low-carbon and just.
Mark
Campanale, Founder and Executive Chair of Carbon Tracker, an independent think
tank that analyzes the financial impact of an
energy transition, said, “A comprehensive economic recovery means taking the
long view, investing now in infrastructure that will serve communities for
years to come. Fossil fuels do not have a place in the long-term health of
humanity. Faith institutions’ commitment to create a better world is leadership
that governments should follow.”
Earlier
this month, a new report from
Operation Noah showed that none of the major oil companies are compliant with
the Paris agreement targets. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Revd Dr
Rowan Williams, said in response to the report, “The current health crisis has
highlighted as never before the need for coherent international action in the
face of global threat. Can we learn the lesson and apply it to the global
threat of climate change? To do so means taking practical and effective steps
to reduce our lethal dependence on fossil fuels.”
Today’s
multi-faith announcement comes from Methodist, Anglican, Catholic and
Buddhist institutions, among others. The group includes the Jesuits in
Britain, which divested its £400 million ($517.5
million) equity portfolio from fossil fuels in February 2020.
Illustrating
the need for a just recovery, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace in
Bangladesh is among those committing to divest from fossil fuels.
Bangladesh
is home to the world’s largest refugee camp, where more than half a million
people live near the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is extremely vulnerable
to the greater risk of catastrophic storms that come with climate change. A
viral pandemic and a catastrophic storm would bring one of the world’s most
vulnerable communities to a halt, illustrating the need to repair the faults
that have left economies near the breaking point.
Father
Endra Wijayanta, director of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation
Commission for the Archdiocese of Semarang, in Indonesia, said, “In this
COVID-19 pandemic, it is the exact time not only to reflect, but to act. We
have to stop our ecological spiral of death. We have to revive our ecological
hope, in massive repentance of humankind, by taking the pathway to more
sustainable living.”
Faith
communities have long taken the lead in the global divestment movement, and
have contributed the single greatest number of commitments, with over 350
commitments in the global total of over 1,400. Today’s action by faith
institutions puts pressure on governments around the world to enact policies
that will lead to a comprehensive and resilient recovery.
Catholics’
participation is especially resonant as today marks the start of Laudato Si’
Week, a global commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope
Francis’ encyclical on climate change and ecology. After being invited to participate in Laudato Si’ Week by Pope Francis,
Catholics have taken up the project to build a more just and sustainable future
together. In the last month, 21 Catholic organizations with $40 billion in
assets under management committed to invest in companies that align with their
values by signing the Catholic Impact Investing Pledge.
A full
list of the 42 institutions divesting from fossil fuels and statements from
leaders can be found here.
Statements from leaders:
Tomás
Insua, executive director of Global Catholic Climate Movement, said: “Every
dollar invested in fossil fuels is a vote for suffering. These institutions are
taking prophetic action to light the way towards a more just and sustainable
future because now more than ever, we need to protect our communities and build
a just recovery together.”
James Buchanan,
Bright Now Campaign Manager at Operation Noah, said: “The decisions we make now
will affect the future of humanity for thousands of years. These faith
institutions are showing strong leadership in response to the climate crisis,
and we urge governments around the world to follow their lead in ending support
for fossil fuels and investing in the clean technologies of the future.”
Prof.
Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, World Council of Churches Deputy General Secretary said:
“We reiterate the urgent concerns of Christians around the world in relation to
climate change and its adverse effects on the whole of creation. The moral
imperative of fossil fuel divestment and of investing in a low-carbon path to
realizing economic, social, and ecological wellbeing and sustainability for the
whole creation is more urgent than never.”
Rev
Rachel Mash, Coordinator of Green Anglicans (Anglican Church of Southern
Africa), said: “The COVID-19 crisis shows us that our current way of living is
unsustainable, we are sick because the Earth is sick. We cannot go back
to normal, we must grow back to a new way of sustainable living. As we move
into a post COVID-19 era, we must move away from sources of energy that
contribute to climate change and air pollution.”
Reverend
Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of Green Faith, said: “Extractive
corporations, and the banks that finance them, are demanding government
bailouts and the dismantling of environmental protections in the middle of a
global pandemic and economic collapse. The idea that precious funds should bail
out the world’s wealthiest corporations, not the people whose lives are at
stake, is hard to fathom. This injustice is wrong. This is the time to rethink
how we relate to one another and the earth. The religious groups announcing
their divestment from fossil fuels today are stepping into the breach at a time
when nothing is the same and everything has to change.”
Yossi
Cadan, Global Finance Campaign Manager at 350.org, said: “Once again, faith
groups continue to lead the way and clearly indicate to the rest of the world
that any future investments or stimulus funds must exclude fossil fuels and
yield long-term structural emissions reductions. The solutions to the economic
crisis are the solutions to the climate crisis. The economic downturn must be
an opportunity to accelerate the transition needed towards low- and
zero-carbon. And any financial intervention, including investors, needs to put
people and their livelihoods front and center.”
ENDS
Contact:
james.buchanan@operationnoah.org, +44 7801 570 653