Church cools on resources
In a meeting held in Sydney on Tuesday, council members from the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT voted unanimously to divest from companies engaged in fossil fuel extraction and place them on its "excluded stock list".
The synod said investments in mining companies contradicted its ethical investment principles, which require it to shun companies involved in "substantially changing the environment".
Paddington Uniting Church mission development manager Justin Whelan said the church wanted to express concern about climate change through more than just words. "This is the church taking direct action and showing that it's not willing to profit from destroying the earth," he said.
Mr Whelan said the church was concerned about the expansion of mining in NSW, particularly coal and coal seam gas, threatening agricultural land, human health and biodiversity. He said it was hoped the resolution would send a "strong signal" to mining companies and the government.
The Uniting Church has previously sold its shares in Woolworths because of concerns about poker machines.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The Uniting Church's NSW and ACT council members voted unanimously at a Sydney meeting to divest from companies engaged in fossil fuel extraction and place those firms on its excluded stock list.
The church cited concerns about climate change and said investments in mining companies contradict its ethical investment principles, which require it to shun companies that substantially change the environment.
The church singled out the expansion of coal and coal seam gas mining in New South Wales, saying these activities threaten agricultural land, human health and biodiversity.
The excluded stock list is the roster of companies the church will remove from its investment portfolio because they engage in fossil fuel extraction; the decision means the church will no longer hold shares in those excluded companies.
Justin Whelan, mission development manager at Paddington Uniting Church, said the move was the church taking direct action on climate change and showing it was not willing to profit from destroying the earth.
Yes. The church said it hopes the resolution will send a strong signal to mining companies and the government about its concerns over mining expansion and environmental harm.
Yes. The church previously sold its shares in Woolworths because of concerns about poker machines, showing a pattern of divestment based on ethical considerations.
The church's ethical investment principles require avoiding investments in companies that substantially change the environment, which is why concerns about climate change and local environmental impacts from mining drove the decision to divest.
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