Global disinvestment movement builds momentum

The world is starting to wake up to the need to take our money out of fossil fuels. Last week the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee passed a disinvestment motion, stating that the list of sectors in which WCC does not invest should be extended to include fossil fuels. WCC is a fellowship of over 300 churches in 150 countries and the central committee is made up of influential religious leaders. They are encouraging their members to do the same, meaning this decision to disinvest could resonate far and wide. Read more about other recent announcements from the New Zealand and Australian Anglican Churches and the British Medical Association, and support from the Church of Sweden.

Letter writing to Church investment decision-makers

We need your help to continue building momentum for disinvestment in UK Churches and to demonstrate that this matters to Christians across the UK. We launched our letter-writing campaign at our supporters' day last month. We are encouraging Christians of all denominations to write as individuals, as groups, or as churches and to ask your church leaders or influential figures to sign a letter. Both the Church of England and the Methodist Church in Britain have committed to conduct a review of their investment policies regarding fossil fuels, due for publication in 2015. Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies are continuing to extract and develop more fossil fuels, including the most polluting of all, coal and tar sands. We would like the Methodist Church and the Church of England to take more radical action and, most urgently, to commit to disinvest from coal and tar sands without delay.

A simple letter can be a highly effective way of getting your concern heard and conveying a personal message. This will help to keep up the pressure on decision-makers and influence the reviews in progress. You can write to Church Commissioners in the Church of England or to the Methodist Church Joint Advisory Committee on Ethical Investment. See our further guidance and template letters for writing to the Church of England and the Methodist Church.

Disinvestment – both an ethical and a financial concern

Disinvestment movements, such as tobacco and anti-apartheid, have historically been seen as influential political statements that aim to stigmatise the unethical behaviour of corporations. Disinvestment from fossil fuels is unique in that it is both a moral concern and a financial one. Former Operation Noah board member Bishop David Atkinson has written a personal reflection exploring the ethics of Church investments and fossil fuels here. Our latest blog also highlights some of the economic arguments for why Churches should be pulling their money out of coal, oil and gas before the carbon bubble bursts. These issues are reflected in this recent Daily Telegraph article that explains the financial risks of fossil fuels as the world embraces a greener agenda. Global developments in solar, wind and many other renewable technologies are already eroding the financial viability of fossil fuels. This leads us to ask the question, not whether the Churches will now disinvest from fossil fuels, but why haven’t they done so already?

A boost to our call to the Church of England

Following the World Council of Churches decision to disinvest from fossil fuels we have seen a large surge in the number of people who are calling on the Church of England to follow. If you haven’t yet signed the petition to the Church of England you can do so here, or to the other major denominations, the Methodist Church, the Church of Scotland and the Church in Wales.

New Campaigner

Operation Noah is delighted to welcome Ellie Roberts, who has just been appointed as a campaigner for Bright Now. Ellie begins work at the end of July.

A successful AGM and supporters' day

We had a creative and inspiring day at our AGM in June in Birmingham. Over 40 people attended. We heard some personal stories from board members and ambassadors who have been active campaigners. We held workshops on the Bright Now campaign, anti-fracking campaigning, planning for our year of prayer and fasting events and building up our ambassadors programme. The chair’s annual report is available here.

Upcoming events

Greenbelt Festival, 22 - 25 August
Operation Noah board members Ruth Jarman and Siobhan Grimes will be running a workshop about environmental activism from a faith perspective. If you are attending the festival come and visit the joint Christian Ecology Link, A Rocha and Operation Noah information stand.

Global Day of Action, 21 September
A mass mobilisation is being planned by 350.org and Avaaz to coincide with the additional UN climate summit in New York on 23 September 2014. In the UK the aim is to get a public statement from David Cameron that demonstrates the UK Government's ambition on tackling climate change. A rally will be held in Central London as part of For the Love of... campaign and supporters are asked to send in photos and videos for an interactive video installation that will show the wide-scale national support. So if you are unable to attend in person you can still participate in the Global Day of Action. More details to follow.

Advance date: Time to Act, 7 March 2015
A large national demonstration in Central London organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change to demand a meaningful international agreement at the UN 2015 climate summit in Paris.

Welcome changes in the cabinet

Operation Noah is delighted to hear that we have a new Environment Secretary – Elizabeth Truss MP. We sincerely hope that she will not prove to be a climate sceptic like her predecessor, that she will encourage a more radical and positive approach to all forms of renewable energy and that she will provide a welcome steer for Britain's role in moving forwards the international agreements to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Please help us through donating

Our campaign work relies on donations from supporters. You can set up a regular donation or give a one-off donation here. If you do your shopping online we are now also registered with Give as you Live so that you can donate to Operation Noah when you purchase.

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