Methodist Church commits to shift investment away from dirtiest fossil fuels

Coal producers, fossil fuel lobbyists and companies that provide mining equipment to extractive industries were put on notice as the Methodist Church voted to shift investment away from the dirtiest fossil fuels.

Christian Aid’s Senior Private Sector Advisor, Ken Boyce, praised the Methodist Church for showing leadership and recognising the wider impact of those involved in promoting the burning of the most polluting fuels.

“On the heels of the Papal Encyclical it is great to see the Methodist Church joining the growing movement of organisations that recognise the harm of coal and tar sands and want nothing to do with them.  Climate change and its global effects on the poor is a moral issue and faith groups are rightly responding to that reality,” he said.

“The Methodist Church is also right to identify some of the less obvious contributors to climate change. By taking into account companies’ lobbying activities and by equating mining equipment firms to ‘the companies they serve’ the Church is rightly seeing the big picture when it comes to investment.

“They are also right to highlight the irrationality of companies devoted to further exploration of dirty energy when we already know that a large percentage of the world’s fossil fuel reserves cannot be used if we are to meet our climate change commitments.

“This move by the Methodist Church is a step in the right direction but even greater action is needed to help the world’s poorest.  We hope to work with churches across the UK to help them speed up the world’s transition to a zero carbon economy.”