Campaigners are calling on churches and faith groups to increase investment in climate solutions through a new global initiative.
Called the Green Investment Declaration, and supported by UK charities Operation Noah and JustMoney Movement, the initiative aims to get signatories to invest at least 5% of their assets in climate solutions within five years.
Operation Noah’s campaign director Clare Fussel said that the initiative also wanted to encourage church and faith groups to advocate for green investment, “creating ripples throughout wider church and society, encouraging others to do likewise”.
Internationally, churches manage billions of pounds of investments and a UN Environment Programme while global faith groups – which collectively have trillions of dollars of assets and investments – are the third largest economic power on earth.
Last year, the Church of England said it was investing £30 million into upgrading churches, cathedrals and schools, in order to help improve the efficiency of buildings in the hope of achieving net zero by 2030.
Rallying faith groups to invest in climate solutions is more crucial than ever as global emissions must be nearly halved by 2030 in order to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, campaigners say.
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Some UK churches and dioceses – almost all of which have now divested from fossil fuels – are already investing in climate solutions.
The Quakers in Britain have dedicated over 18% of their investment portfolio to climate solutions, including wind, solar, energy efficiency and public transport, and believe that the market value of their portfolio has increased as a result.
“By signing up to this Green Investment Declaration, your church or organisation is not just having a direct impact through your investments but, through speaking publicly about it, you’re also creating ripples throughout wider church and society, encouraging others to do likewise,” said Fussel.
“Together we can play our part in the restoration of creation, starting with our finances.”
