Representing Half a Billion Christians, World Council of Churches to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are now on the list of unethical investments, deemed unworthy of pursuit by the World Council of Churches.

“The committee discussed the ethical investment criteria, and considered that the list of sectors in which the WCC does not invest should be extended to include fossil fuels.” This note was taken from the Report of the Finance Policy Committee from the WCC’s Central Committee meeting in Geneva this July.

From the Guardian, Bill McKibben weighs in:

“The World Council of Churches reminds us that morality demands thinking as much about the future as about ourselves – and that there’s no threat to the future greater than the unchecked burning of fossil fuels.”

The decision reflects only the WCC’s own investments and not the investments of its membership. Representing 345 member churches and 500 million Christians, the WCC‘s Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant, and United member churches include the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, National Baptist Convention of America, Presbyterian Church, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and many others. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member, although the WCC notes that the organizations work together closely in other ways.

• anglican church, catholic church, climate change, divestment, fossil fuels, sustainability, the sacred and the sustained, wcc, world council of churches
• September 23, 2014