In another huge win for the divestment movement the World Council of Churches (WCC), consisting of over 300 churches and representing half a billion Christians worldwide, has decided to pull its investments out of fossil fuels.
The umbrella group, which includes churches from across 150 countries, including the Church of England by not the Catholic Church, has agreed to phase out its own holdings in coal, oil and gas and encourage its members to do the same.
The decision has been welcomed as a “major victory” by divestment campaigners who say the decision by the WCC’s Central Committee – which is made up of dozens of influential religious leaders from around the world – could resonate far and wide.
Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, a campaign supporting the divestment effort, said:
– See more at: http://tcktcktck.org/2014/07/world-council-churches-divest-fossil-fuels/63543#sthash.ZyqtW0YS.dpuf
In another huge win for the divestment movement the World Council of Churches (WCC), consisting of over 300 churches and representing half a billion Christians worldwide, has decided to pull its investments out of fossil fuels.
The umbrella group, which includes churches from across 150 countries, including the Church of England by not the Catholic Church, has agreed to phase out its own holdings in coal, oil and gas and encourage its members to do the same.
The decision has been welcomed as a “major victory” by divestment campaigners who say the decision by the WCC’s Central Committee – which is made up of dozens of influential religious leaders from around the world – could resonate far and wide.
The report of the council’s finance policy committee, published on the final day of the council’s central committee meeting in Geneva said it “considered that the list of sectors in which the WCC does not invest should be extended to fossil fuels.”
It is not clear whether this decision will apply to only the council itself, which has a comparatively small investment fund, or whether the move will spread to its members as well, which have much larger investments.
The report of the council’s finance policy committee, published on the final day of the council’s central committee meeting in Geneva said it “considered that the list of sectors in which the WCC does not invest should be extended to fossil fuels.”
It is not clear whether this decision will apply to only the council itself, which has a comparatively small investment fund, or whether the move will spread to its members as well, which have much larger investments.
Guillermo Kerber, who coordinates the WCC’s work on care for creation and climate justice said:
– See more at: http://tcktcktck.org/2014/07/world-council-churches-divest-fossil-fuels/63543#sthash.ZyqtW0YS.dpuf
