Tag: cca

Green Tau: issue 84

20th November 2023

The Diocese of Chichester votes against divestment 

On Saturday 18th November I joined a group of CCA people holding a vigil as members arrived for Chichester Diocese’s Synod which was to vote on whether or not to remain invested in fossil fuels. We were then invited in to observe the debate. What follows is based on the notes I made as people spoke.  

The motion came from the Chichester Diocese Fund and Board of Finance (incorporated) and was as follows:- 

 “1. ETHICAL INVESTMENT Mrs Lesley Lynn (Chair) to move that “This Synod re-affirms that care for God’s creation is foundational to the Christian gospel and central to the church’s mission and, recognising

(a) the importance of working towards a future which does not depend on fossil fuels;

(b) the need to both develop alternative energy supplies and reduce the demand for energy before freedom from fossil fuels can be achieved; and

(c) the central role that large energy companies have to play in developing alternative energy supplies, agrees that it will continue to invest in Shell and BP only while those companies have a clear strategy aligned with the Paris Agreement goal to limit the increase of average global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.”

The first part of the motion states a positive green view of the Church’s values and calling. From this (a) and (b) are logical ambitions,  and by inference so is (c) – which it is certainly not! There is a lot of published material that shows that fossil fuel companies like Shell and BP are part of the climate crisis problem; not the solution. 

Yet Lesley was forthright in her views that continuing to investing in  fossil fuels was a responsible solution to the climate crisis. Her main argument was that to address the climate crisis we must reduce energy consumption. At the same time she believed fossil fuels were essential to our daily lives for energy and transport. To reduce the availability of fossil fuel energy would be detrimental and would  further impoverish the poor through higher prices. 

This view ignores the facts that renewable energy is cheaper to produce; that the prices of both fossil, fuel and renewable energy are distorted by government subsidies and policies which favour fossil fuels over renewables; and that renewable energy can and will increasingly support our daily living needs as we transition to net zero.

A speaker against the motion, reminded us of the plea from the Churches of the South, who are calling on us, their brothers and sisters in the west, to divest because they are suffering unbearably from the effects of the climate crisis. 

The actions the Church – in this case the Diocese of Chichester – carry with them a message that is heard far and wide, that proclaims our values. Divesting speaks of justice for those in the global south – as well as for the poor in our own communities. Divesting also speaks of care for the environment which is a message many young people and the unchurched in our society want to hear.

Lesley presented the argument that staying invested gave the Diocese a voice in the boardrooms and AGMs of Shell and BP, and thus the means to effect changes in the ways these companies addressed climate issues. She noted that the Church of England nationally no longer had this agency. A speaker against the motion pointed out that the National Investment Body NIBs had taken this view up until this year but has concluded that the rate of progress was too slow – given the urgency of the climate crisis – and that both Shell and BP had in fact changed direction and showed no intention of transitioning at a rate fast enough to be of benefit.

The motion put forward by Lesley asserted that large energy companies had a central role to play in developing alternative energy supplies. No evidence was given in support of this. In fact with regards to Shell and BP this is certainly not the case. 

Global Witness examined Shell’s spending on wind and solar for 2021 and found it equated to just 1.5% of their capital expenditure. In March 2022 Shell announced it would spend £20-25bn over the next ten years in the UK energy system – a figure which shrinks when considered in relation to their annual profits for that year alone of £32bn.  Further, of this proposed spend in the UK, only 75% would be on low and zero-carbon products and services, which while including offshore wind, hydrogen, also includes carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and electric mobility. 

A smiliar picture exists with BP. Between 2016 and  2022  BP spent $3.2bn on clean energy compared with $84bn on oil and gas exploration and development. Since then Bernard Looney the CEO has been replaced as he was felt to be leaning too much in favour of green policies.  

In terms of investing in renewable energy, Lesley said that if the Diocese did divest, they would not  reinvest that money in renewables as the Diocese already had a sufficient spread of renewable in their portfolio. 

The motion put forward by Lesley also had the proviso that investment would continue only so long as ‘those companies have a clear strategy aligned with the Paris Agreement goal to limit the increase of average global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.’ 

One research body that assesses the compliance status of companies is the The Transition Pathway Initiative Centre. This is the research body used by the Church of England. It finds that both Shell and BP are not compliant. However Lesley does not agree with their formulations and prefers instead those of the World Benchmarking Alliance. However even their benchmarking does not actually confirm that Shell and BP are Paris Aligned, just that there are relatively more ecological/ ethical than other oil companies, ranking 11th and 12th respectively. Lesley did add that as well as investments in Shell and BP, the Diocese has investments in Total (which ranks third on the World Benchmarking Alliance) and the Diversified Energy Company. (This latter, apparently buys old oil wells and revamps the infrastructure so as to reduce the emissions linked to the extraction process. This sounds like a positive but it does nothing to reduce the much larger emissions from when the oil is used).

Another speaker against the motion suggested that as the Church was capable of making ethical investment decisions not to invest in tobacco, arms, drugs or the sex trade, why could it not equally make the decision not to invest in  fossil fuels? In reply, Lesley differentiated between them saying that if overnight all arms or drugs disappeared,  the world would be a happier, safer place. But if oil disappeared overnight we would all be stranded. 

Bringing the debate back to ethics and values was important, for the motion was linking investment decisions to the Christian calling to care for creation. Nothing in the debate supporting the motion suggested how continuing to invest in Shell and BP would achieve this. At a recent conference ‘Church Investment in Climate Solutions: Financing a  Liveable Future’ (organised by Operation Noah and FaithInvest) the importance of having a clear investment policy that reflects faith values was emphasised. With such a clear policy, churches and faith groups are then equipped to go to their financial advisers and say these are the values we want our portfolio to reflect. 

This is where I feel the Diocese of Chichester has failed. It has a adopted an ethical investment policy that is illogical, claiming in the one hand to care for creation whilst at the same time investing in companies whose main product is one that is destroying the planet. Further, having included  provisos within its policy to limit the adverse effects of its investments on the climate, it is continuing to invest in companies that clearly do not meet the stated criteria.

The vote sadly went in favour of continuing investment in Shell and BP: 

For 62 against 32 abstention 9.

Saturday was a sad day for the Diocese of Chichester, for the wider church, for Christian witness and for the wellbeing of creation. 

Pilgrimage for the Planet

Today, 10th September I am leading a pilgrimage as part of CCA’s Weekend of pilgrimages.

These are the prayers we will be using as we walk from Putney to Richmond along the Thames Path.

“Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5:24

The ancient practice of pilgrimage, honoured by many of the world’s great faiths, has a renewed focus in this age of climate and ecological emergency. Walking together with intention, mindfulness and prayer proclaims a different pace and place in relationship to the earth; and with each other. We become fellow travellers, learning again to ‘tread lightly’ on the earth. Pilgrimage invites a renewal of body, mind and spirit, while offering a visible sign of a different way of living and travelling.

Opening prayers:

Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
To you we offer praise and glory, the honour and blessing.
All creation – all that lives and breathes and moves – praises you. 

All the elements praise you – 

Brother Sun radiant with light and energy, beautiful and awesome,

And who with Sister Moon, establishes day and night,  tides and seasons. 

All praise to God!

Brother Wind and air, calm and serene, powerful and fearsome, 

Bringer of weather, and source of energy.

All praise to God!

Sister Water, humble yet precious, simple and beautiful, 

fluid energy and source of life. 

All praise to God!

Brother Fire, playful, robust and strong, 

offering warmth and comfort, yet to be handled with care!

All praise to God!

Sister-Mother Earth who sustains us and governs us,

And  produces plants and minerals, sustaining life in all its rich diversity.

All praise to God!

All the elements praise you 

and so too all that lives and breathes within your creation!

All praise to God!

In your bountiful love, 

forgive our carelessness, our greed and our destructive acts. 

Lord have mercy

Forgive our selfishness, and our failure to show compassion. 

Lord have mercy

Forgive our heartlessness, our narrowness of vision and  our failure to act justly.

Lord have mercy

Forgive our self-certainty, our disregard for your wisdom and our failure to learn.

Lord have mercy

With humility and contrition, we praise you 

and ask your blessing on our endeavours. 

May we serve you with humility,

seeking justice and showing loving care for all creation.

To you be all honour and power, praise and glory.

Amen. 

Pauses for prayer.

1. Putney Bridge, beneath which runs the newly constructed super sewer.

This tunnel will be 25km long and 7.2 metres in diameter, when it finishes construction in 2025. It will carry away London’s sewage and rainwater with sufficient capacity that even during storms effluent will not enter the Thames. Instead this effluent will make its way to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works before being discharged as clean water into the Thames estuary.

We give thanks for the super sewer that will prevent sewage spilling into the Thames. We give thanks for the rich diversity of wildlife – fish, flora and fauna – that a clean Thames can support. 

Yet we lament our human foolishness that so often allows harmful chemicals, sewage and litter to pollute the waterways on which we depend. 

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

2. Betwixt the boat houses and the playground at Leader’s Gardens. 

We give thanks for joy that the Thames provides a place for recreation and relaxation, both in, on and by the water. We give thanks for the healing and health-giving capacity of the natural world.  

Yet we lament the thoughtless creep of urbanisation that can destroy such beauty and the inequalities of our society that precludes  everyone having easy access to blue and green spaces. 

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

3. London’s Wetland Centre. Over the past twenty plus years these  disused Victorian reservoirs have been transformed to provide a rich habitat for different wetland – and other birds, including sand martins – insects, reptiles and amphibians, bats and various other small mammals. The Wetland Centre is also working with the Borough of  Richmond to rewild the lower sections of the Beverley Brook to help prevent locally flooding as well as enriching biodiversity. In the past  Beverley meant beaver meadow and, like Eel Pie Island, reminds us that in the past there were many more species resident in these waters. 

We give thanks for nature’s capacity to both recover and to recreate biodiverse rich habitats. We give thanks for those opportunities that have been taken to rewild the landscape, even within the confines of a city.

Yet we lament those times when nature has been pushed out of the picture. We lament lawns that have been lost to astroturf, flowers beds lost to driveways, streets that still lack the companionship of trees.

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

4. Mortlake – where in the 17th century the famous Mortlake tapestries were woven by Flemish weavers. Some of the master weavers were granted English citizenship, whilst orphaned boys from the City  of London were taken on as apprentices. This river location has also attracted other migrants; we passed but the Swedish school  in Barnes, and if we went further  upstream we would pass the German school at Petersham. 

We give thanks for the diverse people who have settled along the Thames enriching the lives of their local communities.

Yet we lament the attitude of our our current government towards those who come to these shores seeking safety. We lament the affects of the climate crisis on communities across the globe, particularly for those who are already impoverished because of global inequalities. 

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

5. Kew Gardens – which has a plant collection of some 17,000 species, whilst at its millennium seed bank at Wakehurst it has 2.4 billion seeds from around the world. Kew Gardens is also carrying  out research research into climate change-resistant crops, zero-carbon fertiliser and plant- and cell-based meat and dairy products.

We give thanks for the rich diversity of plants that exists around the world, and for the research being done to protect and enhance plants and habitats.

Yet we lament the industrialisation of farming and the over grazing and exploitation of land to satisfy our desire for meat. We lament the economic model that leave many in the world with inadequate and poor diets .

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

6.  Richmond Lock. The Thames is still tidal here and the lock helps maintain water levels between here and Teddington Lock. Even so during height tides and/ or times of heavy rain land either side of the river can flood and the risk is growing as a result of the climate crisis with rising sea levels and extreme weather systems. To ease this, work is being

carried out in the Old Deer Park to create creeks and swales, allowing the land to become once again a real floodplain. 

We give thanks for the natural capacity of the soil, trees and plants to absorb rainfall. We give thanks for the diversity of habitats that create sustainable ecosystems.

Yet we lament the pressure we are placing on the environment to cope with the climate crisis that we have caused. We lament the threat that rising sea levels  causes for so many small nations. 

Lord have mercy:

Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.

Our final pause is at Richmond Bridge, the end of our pilgrimage. Having begun our journey with a variation of St Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, let us end with a modern Franciscan blessing.

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen. 

further info:

Christian Climate Action  is a community of Christians who support each other to take meaningful action in the face of imminent and catastrophic anthropogenic climate breakdown. We are inspired by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. Following the example of social justice movements of the past, we carry out acts of public witness, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to urge those in power to make the changes needed. We also work to engage and mobilise people to take action.

Welcome

Earth Vigil – Westminster. Every Wednesday, 11-1pm, 1-3pm, we sit together outside parliament, praying to our Creator God For more info contact christianclimateaction@gmail.com

‘Make Polluters Pay’ 23rd September for a day of action with Christian Aid.

‘Oily Money Out’  17th – 19th October. Join us for protest, prayer and action outside the annual Oil and Money Conference