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This article was published by the Climate Action Programme on 14 May 2018 Church of Ireland approves motion to divest from fossil fuels The Anglican Church in Ireland has voted to put an end to its major investments in fossil fuel companies. The decision came at the church’s annual General Synod meeting last week, after a motion was put forward by a private member. The move means the Church of Ireland is now committed to removing investments from all companies which derive more than 10 percent of their income from fossil fuels. The motion has a target date of 2022, slightly amended from 2020 by other members. At the same time, the church intends to continue supporting renewable energy investments and new environmental projects. Its exposure to fossil fuel companies has already declined from 11 percent to 2.5 percent in the past seven years. Stephen Trew, who put forward the proposal, highlighted the moral urgency to address the increasing impacts of climate change in Ire...

This is the article in today's Irish Times Church of Ireland to end investments in fossil fuel companies ‘Divestment from all fossil fuels is the right thing to do’ Patsy McGarry Share to LinkedIn Share to Pinterest Share to Reddit Share to Google+     Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Email App The  Church of Ireland  has made a significant advance to end its investments in all fossil fuels at its General Synod in  Armagh . It voted to exclude fully companies with a turnover of greater than 10 per cent from fossil fuel production, by 2022. As part of its ethical stance in climate change the church has made a major shift in its investments over the past seven years from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and forestry. In 2011, its investment funds exposure to fossil fuels was at 10 per cent and by this year it is down to 2.5 per cent. Church of Ireland’s investments are managed by its Representative C...

The @churchofireland General Synod has voted to divest from ALL fossil fuels. https://t.co/q0chyMMTXH … #divest #fossilfuels #keepitintheground pic.twitter.com/usndD2s1ez — Stephen Trew (@stephentrew) May 11, 2018

 Your Grace, members of Synod. The motion before us today is about the ethics of investments. Investments that provide funds for the work and mission of the church – from pensions to priorities and the episcopate. In the Bible, mission is often described as a journey. And as we move forward in mission, the impact of climate change – its effects on people and our response – will deeply affect our mission. So, let us pause and survey the landscape of the last year. How has the RCB responded to the environmental challenge and what is happening in the world? In the last 12 months the RCB has responded very positively. It has started a number of environmental projects and has managed investments wisely. This is good news and the RCB team need to be applauded for this. But around the world in the last year the impact of climate change on people is very real, I see Maria from Kiribati Island in the Pacific, whose crops are ruined by salt water intrusion from the r...

At General Synod 2018 the Church of Ireland will take an important vote on whether to exclude investments from all fossil fuel companies. It is important for two reasons, one financial and the other ethical. But before I turn to answer those questions I’d like to answer a question some might be asking, Did the Church of Ireland not vote to exclude fossil fuels in 2017? Last year the motion approved by General Synod excluded companies where greater than 10% of turnover comes from the production of coal and tar-sands. The motion did not exclude companies that produce oil and gas. The motion before Synod 2018 seeks to exclude companies where more than 10% of turnover comes from oil and gas. What are the financial reasons to exclude all fossil fuel producing companies? Fossil fuel companies were for many years a safe bet for investments. The Investment managers in the Church of Ireland have told me that the dividend payments are generally good. But in recent years the probl...

The Church of Ireland has  announced  that the General Synod in Armagh in May 2018 will be a 'Sustainable Synod'. The announcement from the RCB in Dublin said that synod will aim to be paperless and, "reduce the environmental footprint of General Synod, encourage recycling, and reduce waste as much as possible." This is very welcome. I really am pleased to see this. I made the call for a Sustainable Synod back in February with this blog post and in the Church of Ireland Gazette and it is another sign that the RCB listens and is taking action when it comes to the environment. This is another positive step from the RCB. I hope they'll take more at General Synod itself.

Anglian archbishops and bishops have joined with 170 faith leaders from across the Commonwealth to call on governments to turn “words into action” on climate change.  Commonwealth countries have increasingly been affected by the effects of climate change. The chruch leaders write, “Not even the remotest corner of the Commonwealth remains unaffected or unthreatened by the impacts of climate change.” The leaders said that to keep the global temperature rise below the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees concerted action is needed. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph they wrote, “Subsistence communities in African countries struggle to grow crops in increasingly arid earth. In the Pacific, rising sea levels threaten the existence of whole countries. In Asia, salination is driving people from their land. Arctic communities’ ways of life are undermined. Ever more violent and unpredictable storms devastate the Caribbean. At the scale of the Commonwealth we can see tha...

The Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Michael Jackson, is hosting a Climate Change Awareness event on 26 April 2018 at Trinity College Dublin.  The list of speakers is impressive and hints that more fossil fuel divestment is on the way. Three academics are speaking: Prof John Sweeney, Dr Lorna Gold and is Dr Cathriona Russell. Professor John Sweeny is the keynote speaker addressing The Science of Climate Change. There is no one better in Ireland to explain why Ireland is not immune to the dangers of climate change. He has written extensively, publishing 110 scientific papers on climate change in Ireland contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4 th Assessment Report. He also regularly writes about the topic in the national press. Dr. Lorna Gold is Head of Policy and Advocacy in Trócaire. She has led the charity’s campaign for climate justice and is an expert in the fossil fuel divestment. Speaking about solutions she has said, “fossil f...

At the 2017 Church of Ireland General Synod a motion was passed to divest from coal and tar-sands. This blog post explains how it happened. Post-synod pub dinner We met in Bobby Byrne’s Pub for dinner in Limerick after the 2017 Church of Ireland General Synod.   Motion 11 on climate change and fossil fuel investments had just been passed. It committed the Representative Church Body (RCP) to divest from coal and tar-sands, reduce the carbon footprint of the investment portfolio, support collaborative engagement, and divest from oil and gas companies that are not serious about the change to a low carbon economy. Over dinner I was asked by some friends, ‘How did you learn about church divestment from fossil fuels? ’ Typhoon Haiyan Photo:  Lawrence Ruiz  I explained what had impacted me, ‘A few years ago my passion for climate justice was lit after the Super Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. This was the strongest storm ever to make landfall a...

The Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of South America, Bishop Greg Venables is calling together the bishops of six countries in South America to discuss the challenges posed by climate change. Bishop Venables said, “The gathering is aimed at equipping bishops and Church delegates in defining the focus and strategies to respond to the ever-growing environmental challenges resulting from climate change. In particular, the event will provide a space for mutual learning and reflection in order to define concrete steps that will put the Fifth Mark of Anglican Mission into action: ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’” This is a timely call to action. For a number of countries in South America are beginning to suffer severe impacts from climate change. For example, 70 % of Peru’s hydroelectric power and Lima’s drinking water comes from glacial meltwater. Glaciers that have shrunk by a third since 1970 and, at the current r...

Coffee-culture goes counterculture ( Episodes are below) I love a freshly brewed coffee. I know you do too. You might buy one on the way to work, I like to have a lunchtime walk so that’s when I enjoy mine. But recently throwing away all these disposable cups has been bothering me. Every minute 500 coffee cups are thrown away in the UK – that is 2.5 billion cups a year! I’d like to do something about that and I thought Lent might be a good time to make a change. So I’m giving up on disposable cups and sharing the journey with you by making a podcast. I’m calling it #NoCupPlease. #NoCupPlease is a podcast experiment. I’m going to visit as many coffee shops as I can, both major chains and local coffee shops, and when I order I’m going to say something like, ‘Americano but #NoCupPlease’. I’ll record the experience as a podcast episode. I’ll be using the Anchor Podcast app on my phone to create the podcast. You can join in the experiment by installing Anchor from the AppStore...

Members of St. Saviour’s Church Dollingstown in Magheralin Parish decided to ‘Show the Love’ on Sunday 11 February, just before Valentine’s Day, to raise awareness about how things we love might be affected by climate change. Whether it’s coffee, the Causeway coast, sea turtles, our grandchildren or the people of Kenya, we all love someone or something which will be affected by climate change. The changing climate is already taking a toll on vulnerable communities around the world causing, for example, drought and food shortages in East Africa and more extreme flooding and cyclones in Bangladesh. The ‘Show the Love’ campaign is organised by Christian Aid along with over 100 other organisations as part of The Climate Coalition . They call on individuals, schools, churches, clubs and societies across Ireland and the UK to ‘Show the Love’ for everything that is threatened by climate change. For more details search social media for #ShowTheLove and visit showthelove.org.uk for...

Yesterday the RCB released this press article:  ' #RCBeClimateConscious #reduce #reuse – Bees, Trees, KeepCups and other Church House Dublin initiatives'  on how the Representative Body of the Church of Ireland has stepped up its commitment to Tackling Climate Change. I have to say, the RCB is now doing a decent job on tracking its steps on climate change, biodiversity and reducing pollution. The investment and pension funds are being cleaned up by removing investments from fossil fuels and the RCB's collaborative engagement muscles are being flexed by telling large corporations that they must speed up the transition to a carbon-free future. It is also encouraging that the RCB is piloting an energy audit in Down and Dromore Diocese, highlighting the joint Eco-Congregations and Bishops' Appeal #jars4journeys Lent project , and introducing bee hives (1/3 of food crops need pollination but bees are in serious decline, see sos-bees.org ). The policy on trees: 'pl...

The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Reverend Richard Clarke, will make his views on the environment known at an event in Lambeth Palace in September 2018. The Archbishop of Canterbury has invited all presiding bishops and moderators of the 39 provinces of the Anglican Communion to make a written submission to be displayed at Lambeth Palace and online during the Season of Creation from 1 September to 4 October 2018. The idea came about from the primates meeting in October 2017. It is clear that environmental issues such as climate change are very important to the primates. This was reported by Archbishop Richard Clarke himself at the January 2016 Standing Committee , as the minutes recorded, “Archbishop Clarke relayed that hearing directly about climate change had had a profound impact upon him – from the reality of islands in the south Pacific disappearing into the ocean through rising water levels to parts of east Africa becoming desert again though intentional deforest...

A group of Anglican Bishops and clergy recently called upon the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board to "show moral leadership" by divesting from fossil fuels, and divest from ExxonMobil in particular. See my earlier blog post . In a letter to the Guardian newspaper, the group cites a recent journal paper analyzing ExxonMobil’s activities from 1977-2014 that concludes: ‘ExxonMobil contributed to advancing climate science – by way of its scientists’ academic publications – but promoted doubt about it in advertorials.’ The Anglican group's letter concludes, "Now is the time for decisive action. We call on Church of England investors to take the lead and immediately divest from ExxonMobil." The Church of Ireland in recent years has changed its fossil fuel investment strategy by aligning it to the policy to the Church of England. At General Synod 2017 a motion was passed that committed the RCB to: excluded investments in coal and tar s...

As people of faith, we don’t just state our beliefs — we live them out. One belief is that we find purpose and joy in loving our neighbors. Another is that we are charged by our creator with taking good care of his creation. Justin Welby,  from an opinion piece in the New York Times, 4 Nov 2017.

A letter in today’s Guardian calls on the Church of England to divest from ExxonMobil because of its deception about climate science and the increasing risk posed by climate change. The letter, which is signed by 4 bishops and numerous clergy, concludes, "Time is running out to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. While some governments and companies pursue policies that are leading us in the wrong direction, the Church of England is uniquely placed to show moral leadership through its investment policies.  Now is the time for decisive action. We call on Church of England investors to take the lead and immediately divest from ExxonMobil." It is good to see a voice from the Church of England calling for increased urgency with divestment. The Church of Ireland has taken steps in recent years to reduce its investment in fossil fuels. Since 2015 the Representative Church Body has excluded investments in coal and tar sands and reduced investments in oil and gas ...

The article 'RCB rises to the challenge of climate change', published in the Church of Ireland Gazette on 6th October 2017, is one I was very happy to read. After all, this blog is about trying to get the Church of Ireland to respond to that very challenge. You could say I was astonished. I t is fair to say that the Church of Ireland has moved significantly since 2015. Back then, four of the top ten investments were in fossil fuel companies. I Pointed out this inconvenient truth at  synod in 2015 , and there has been real change. Today none of the top 10 investments are in fossil fuels and the overall percentage has dropped from 10% to 3%. Progress, but it needs to get to zero. The article mentions the  motion on climate change  that passed at General Synod 2017. It is worth a reminder of what this called for. Put simply the RCB will exclude coal and tar sands investments and continue to reduce exposure to oil and gas companies by investing in green alternativ...