Religious institutions were present at the international summit on climate change in Egypt, to lend their moral influence. But one of their most significant contributions to the cause is more tangible: church finances.
Marquette announced an update March 24 to its university investment policy that bars investments in public securities whose primary business involves the exploration and extraction of coal, oil and gas.
U.K. Catholic and other faith groups are urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to show leadership in holding the world to its conservation targets when the U.N. climate conference opens Oct. 31 in Glasgow, Scotland.
We say: The bishops' conference investing guidelines need an environmental update. Catholics can't continue to be apathetic bystanders, profiting at the expense of communities suffering from climate change.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told a Catholic gathering that continued investment in fossil fuels will lead to financial losses as countries move to adopt clean energy.
The NCR Publishing Company has separated its multimillion-dollar investment portfolio from financial holdings in the fossil fuel sector. New board guidelines also encourage investments in renewable energy.
An official in the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development urged Catholic institutions around the world to divest from fossil fuels, calling it a moral and theological imperative.
The U.S. bishops' conference is reviewing its socially responsible investment guidelines, a process that could result in the first update since 2003. The current document offers little direction on fossil fuels.
