The London Guardian reports that the World Council of Churches, which represents over 500 million Christians, has divested from fossil fuels:
The report of the council’s finance policy committee, published on Thursday on the final day of the council’s central committee meeting in Geneva, says that: “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.”…
It is not clear yet whether Thursday’s decision will apply only to the council itself, which has a comparatively small investment fund, or its members as well, which have much larger investments.
The Church of England said it could not yet comment on what the decision meant for its own investments. The CoE has not moved yet to divest from fossil fuel companies but has set up a subgroup to take advice on climate change and investment.
In May, the UN’s climate chief, Christiana Figueres, gave a speech to faith leaders at St Paul’s cathedral in London, calling on them to show leadership on climate change. She also said religious groups should drop their investments in fossil fuels, and encourage their members to do the same.