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Moving Beyond Fossil Fuels

Faith Communities andFossil Fuel Divestment

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Desmond Tutu

• FREEZE NEW FOSSIL FUEL EXPLORATION• HOLD THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLIMATE

CHANGE ACCOUNTABLE• ENCOURAGE GOVERNMENTS TO STOP

ACCEPTING FOSSIL FUEL MONEY• DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND INVEST IN A

CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

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Divesting from Fossil Fuels

• > 300 Colleges & Universities• Dozens of cities & counties• Denominations worldwide• Individual churches

• Endorsements• Commitments

www.gofossilfree.org

http://greenfaith.org/programs/divest-and-reinvest

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www.fossilfreepcusa.org

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What do Presbyterians Divest From?

• Alcohol• Tobacco• (Gambling)• (Pornography)• Human Rights (Apartheid)• WMDs• Nuclear Weapons• Chemical / Biological Weapons• Assault Weapons• <Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar, Motorola>

• http://www.pcusa.org/resource/2014-general-assembly-divestment-list/

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• Historical• Categorical Divestment• Phased Selective Divestment• Divestment Principles and Criteria– http://www.presbyterianmission.org/media/uploa

ds/mrti/pdfs/1984_&_1985_divestment_strategy_policy_&_south_africa_policy.pdf pp 29,30

How do we divest?

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Seven Criteria for Divestment1. The issue on which divestment is proposed should be one reflecting

central aspects of the faith.2. The issue on which divestment is proposed should be one that the church

has addressed by a variety of educational and action efforts, such as: – Correspondence with companies– Discussion with company managers and directors– Statements, questions, and shareholder resolutions at stockholder meetings– Legal action against companies

3. The analysis supporting the proposed action: – Should be clearly grounded in the church's confession and unambiguously

present in the social policy of the General Assembly– Should clearly define the behavior and stance of the corporate entities whose

policies or practices are at issue– Should state the ends sought through divestment

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4. The decision should be taken after consultation with the ecumenical community, whenever possible. The implementation of a divestment action should ordinarily be in solidarity with other Christian bodies.

5. Efforts should be made to examine the probable effects and consequences of the action with affected communities, particularly Presbyterians.

6. The proposed action should be sufficiently precise that the effect of its application can be evaluated.

7. Any proposed divestment action should include provision for: – Informing appropriate church constituencies– Giving appropriate public visibility to the action– Engaging other governing bodies and members in advocacy for the ends that

prompt the divestment– Giving pastoral care to those directly affected.

Seven Criteria for Divestment

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• Mission Responsibility Through Investment– Presbyterian Foundation– BOP– ACSWP– ACREC– ACWC– PMA– at-large

Who is MRTI? Alphabet Soup…

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• Presbyterian Foundation: ~$1.7 Billion• Board of Pensions: ~$8.6 Billion

How much money?

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BOP Holdings, Dec 2014Company BOP Market Value % BIPRoyal Dutch Shell 19,996,784$ 0.231%Total 15,801,562$ 0.183%BP 11,111,088$ 0.129%Apache 8,386,576$ 0.097%Chevron 7,582,074$ 0.088%Occidental 7,206,794$ 0.083%Suncor Energy 6,744,648$ 0.078%ConocoPhillips6,290,985$ 0.073%Vale 5,730,932$ 0.066%Rio Tinto 5,556,856$ 0.064%Exxon Mobil 5,041,714$ 0.058%BG 4,474,587$ 0.052%Tullow Oil 4,366,113$ 0.051%EQT 3,908,358$ 0.045%Pioneer Nat’l Resources 3,893,694$ 0.045%ENI 3,689,935$ 0.043%Southwestern Energy 3,616,492$ 0.042%Canadian Nat’l Resources 3,534,185$ 0.041%CLP Holdings 3,477,469$ 0.040%

Company BOP Market Value % BIPInpex 3,357,718$ 0.039%Range Resources 3,230,606$ 0.037%Woodside Petroleum 3,001,368$ 0.035%Itochu 2,903,080$ 0.034%BHP Billiton 2,765,448$ 0.032%Hess 2,385,886$ 0.028%EOG Resources 1,824,971$ 0.021%Talisman Energy 1,765,396$ 0.020%Marathon Oil 1,737,425$ 0.020%Pacific Rubiales Energy 1,309,345$ 0.015%Continental Resources 1,114,079$ 0.013%FirstEnergy 1,095,740$ 0.013%Ultra Petroleum 998,907$ 0.012%Consol Energy 916,374$ 0.011%Cenovus Energy 814,990$ 0.009%Anadarko Petroleum 591,328$ 0.007%Noble Energy 471,954$ 0.005%Encana 212,211$ 0.002%Totals 37 160,907,670$ 1.86%

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• Members • Congregations / Sessions • Presbyteries (at least two!) • General Assembly Committees– decision / referral

• Plenary Vote

What’s an Overture?

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Who agreed on Fossil Fuel Divestment?

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The Fossil Fuel Divestment Overture (1)

Overture• 1. Express its profound concern…• 2.a. stop new direct investments

• 2.b. divest the rest in three years

• 2.b.i. work with managers

• 2.b.ii. Establish fossil free options

Commentary• same as 2014• don’t buy more shares in specific

fossil companies• the clock keeps ticking…

“the rest” is defined by the Carbon Underground 200

• most investing is done through fund managers; they must create the products we want

• Foundation has already done this; harder for the Board of Pensions

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The Fossil Fuel Divestment Overture (2)

Overture• 2.b.iii. Seek out renewables

• 2.b.iv. continue shareholder engagement

• 2.b.v. don’t make stupid choices

Commentary• Many divestment actions call for

reinvestment; similar to positive investment in Palestine; limited options

• This is BIG! MRTI constantly says we can’t “lose our seat at the table. ” It only takes $2000.

• Investment institutions have a legal ‘fiduciary duty’ to act in the best interest of their clients

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The Fossil Fuel Divestment Overture (3)

Overture• 2.c. Report on your progress• 3. Call upon the Stated Clerk

• 4. provide instructional materials

Commentary• We want to know how it’s going• We want the fossil fuel

companies to know what we’re doing.

• Teach everybody, from members to congregations to presbyteries. All of the above is appropriate here.

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