Bright Now

Today the Church of England joined the Environment Agency Pension Fund, the LSE’s Grantham Institute and various asset owners in launching the Transition Pathway Initiative, its framework for engagement with fossil fuel companies. Other partners include the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church and CCLA. Read more

Operation Noah has responded to the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) consultation on extractive industries. A summary of the response can be found below and the full response can be found here. Read more

On Wednesday 25 May, shareholders at ExxonMobil rejected all of the non-binding climate resolutions at its AGM in Dallas as they were recommended to do by the company’s Board of Directors, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the engagement approach pursued by the Church of England and other investors.

Recent investigations revealed that Exxon knew about the reality of climate change as early as the 1970s, yet poured resources into publicly denying climate change for years. The company is now under investigation by the FBI, at the request of the Department for Justice. Read more

Following the Church of England’s decision at last year’s General Synod to pursue a policy of ‘robust engagement’ with fossil fuel companies rather than disinvestment, Operation Noah trustee The Revd Dr. Darrell D. Hannah wrote the following article for the Church Times outlining what ‘robust engagement’ would truly require to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C. Operation Noah’s Bright Now campaign continues to call on UK churches to fully disinvest from fossil fuel companies. Read more