In the context of the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ 2015 Encyclical Laudato Si, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), together with other faith-based institutions, commits to divest from fossil fuels, following the Vatican’s guidelines on ethical investment. COMECE: “We encourage others to join us and support the European Green Deal as a way of implementing the Paris climate agreement”.
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Global efforts to promote divestment from fossil fuels expanded further as 47 faith institutions, including COMECE, announced their divestment from fossil fuels on Monday, 16 November 2020, in the largest-ever announcement of its kind among religious leaders.
This action also includes divestment in all funds, stocks or bonds that have to do with fossil fuels, from oil to coal. With this important step COMECE follows the Vatican’s first-ever operational guidance on the environment and joins with nearly 400 other faith institutions that have already divested from fossil fuels. The full list of Catholic institutions that have divested to date is here.
Encouraging others to join COMECE in taking concrete steps to solve the climate crisis, Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, stated that “the European Green Deal is a way to commit to the Paris climate agreement, which is very important. Solving the climate crisis – he added – protects the human family from the dangers of a warming world, and decisive action is needed now more than ever.”
The initiative is promoted and carried out by the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM).