Scouts channel oil and gas savings into Earth Day initiatives
In a significant move towards addressing climate change, several religious institutions and entities have committed to divesting from fossil fuels as part of a global movement. This ethical and moral stance reflects a growing recognition of the harmful and financially risky nature of fossil fuel investments.
Leading the charge is the Italian Agesci, a Catholic guides and scouts association, which announced its divestment on Earth Day. Agesci's decision, worth over $2 billion in assets under management, is a response to the 'profit at all costs' logic that undermines the care and protection of creation. The association believes there is an unhealthy relationship between certain finance and climate change.
Agesci's divestment is not a temporary decision. The association's savings will now be permanently unavailable to fossil fuel companies. This decision was influenced by Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' in 2015, which calls for urgent action on climate change and ecological justice.
The divestment announcement by Agesci is not the first among Catholic institutions. National Catholic organizations have been actively asking Italian dioceses and Catholic institutions to divest from fossil fuels. Three Catholic religious orders, including the international Carmelite order, have joined Agesci in this decision. Additionally, two Catholic dioceses, Northampton in England and Catania in Italy, have also committed to divestment.
Seven dioceses of the Church of England, including the diocese of London, have joined the divestment, as have six cathedrals of the Church of England, including Canterbury cathedral. Entities and dioceses from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, and France have also joined the global divestment announcement.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) made history in 2016 as the first Islamic organization to commit to fossil fuel divestment. The Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa in 2019 declaring fossil fuel divestment a moral and religious obligation for Muslims.
Various churches and religious organizations worldwide are part of a wider list of more than 1,600 organizations committed to fully or partially divesting from fossil fuels, including many universities and large funds.
The Laudato Si' Movement plays a pivotal role in this global initiative by promoting the moral imperative for environmental stewardship grounded in Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. The movement mobilizes Catholics worldwide to align investments and actions with care for creation, advocating for fossil fuel divestment as part of a broader commitment to sustainability and social justice.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has also joined the divestment movement, publicly committing in 2022 to withdraw its financial investments by 2025 from banks lacking clear environmental policies, signaling a divestment move towards climate-conscious financial practices.
This collective divestment effort by religious institutions highlights the growing recognition of fossil fuel investments as not only environmentally harmful but also morally and financially risky. The movement encourages peaceful economy and aims to protect the poor living in exploited territories, reflecting a shift towards ethical and sustainable investment practices.
[1] [https://www.laudatosiimovement.org/] [2] [https://gofossilfree.org/divestment/] [3] [https://www.cbcpnews.ph/cbcpnews/catholic-bishops-conference-of-the-philippines-to-divest-from-banks-lacking-clear-environmental-policies/]
- The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has pledged to divest from banks without clear environmental policies by 2025, aligning with the global movement inspired by Pope Francis's Laudato Si' encyclical.
- In 2016, the Islamic Society of North America became the first Islamic organization to commit to fossil fuel divestment, following a 2019 fatwa from the Fiqh Council of North America that deemed divestment a religious obligation for Muslims.
- Recognizing the harmful and financially risky nature of fossil fuel investments, many churches and religious organizations worldwide, including seven dioceses of the Church of England, have joined the global divestment movement, numbering over 1,600 organizations in total.
