The Church of England, led by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, claims it will sell off all of its interests in oil and gas companies in a bid to “protect God’s creation” from the threat of climate change.
Mr Welby condemned the planet’s oil companies for not adhering to the Paris Agreement, a pact that ensures nations help out in slowing global warming to just 1.5C.
However, the move has been branded “virtue signalling” by Follow This – an activist shareholder group that argued the Church had just allowed its shares to be swallowed up by oil company investors.
Before taking holy orders, Mr Welby was an executive at Elf Aquitaine, a French oil firm, and Enterprise Oil in the Eighties.
According to the Church, 11 oil companies, including the likes of BP and Shell, will now be excluded from its investments.
The decision to axe its interests in oil and gas was given the greenlight by the Church Commissioners for England, and the Pensions Board.
In backing the move, Mr Welby said: “The climate crisis threatens the planet we live on and people around the world who Jesus Christ calls us to love as our neighbours.
“It is our duty to protect God’s creation, and energy companies have a special responsibility to help us achieve the just transition to the low carbon economy we need.
“We have long urged companies to take climate change seriously, and specifically to align with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and pursue efforts to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.”
The archbishop added that the Church would not just follow science “but our faith – both of which call us to work for climate justice.”
The chief executive officer of the Church of England Pensions Board, John Ball, also confirmed its intention to “disinvest from all remaining oil and gas holdings across our equity and debt portfolio”.
He noted the “significant misalignment between the long-term interests of our pension fund and continued investment in companies seeking short-term profit maximisation at the expense of the ambition needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement”, as a driving factor behind the decision.
However the landmark move was not celebrated in all quarters, with Follow This blunting saying that “divestment doesn’t work”.
A spokesperson for the group, which claims to “lead investor rebellions demanding reduced carbon emissions to tackle global heating”, added: “An investor once said to me, ‘I can clean my portfolio, I can sell off all the fossil fuels, but it won’t help clean the world. And my remaining portfolio will still be in danger of devastating climate change.
“‘I can say I’m fossil-free, which is nice virtue signalling but it doesn’t change anything.'”
Meanwhile, a Shell spokesperson argued that the Church’s decision was “disappointing but not surprising given its recent change in stance”.
They concluded: “Our commitment to becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains as strong as it ever was, and we firmly believe our strategy is aligned with the more ambitious goal of the Paris climate agreement.
“At the same time, we are clearly focused on capital discipline, enhanced performance and delivering shareholder value, through a strategy which balances delivering energy security with investments in the lower-carbon energy sources of the future.”
