Religious Orders Urge UK Banks to Halt Fossil Fuel Funding
UK Christian campaigners protest Barclays fossil fuel financing - credit Christian Climate Action.
Eight Catholic religious orders have joined a group of 70 Christian organisations in publishing a statement calling on the big five UK high-street banks to end their financing of new fossil fuels, which are fuelling dangerous levels of global heating.
Catholic religious orders signing the statement include the Religious of the Assumption (English Territory), the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, the Columbans in Britain, the Columban Sisters, the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux, the Congregation of Our Lady, Canonesses of St Augustine (UK) and the English Province of the Union of Presentation Sisters. Catholic charities also signed the statement, including SCIAF, the National Justice & Peace Network, and Justice and Peace Scotland.
In the largest action yet calling for change from UK high street banks on their fossil fuel financing, the religious orders, Churches and Christian organisations involved join the many charities, universities and medical institutions that have already taken action on this issue.
The statement was co-authored by a coalition of climate and Christian organisations, including Laudato Si’ Movement, JustMoney Movement, Make My Money Matter, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), Christian Climate Action (CCA) and Bank Better, with support from the World Council of Churches (WCC).
The statement raises concerns over the $556 billion that Barclays, HSBC, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds have provided to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2023, the hottest year on record, the five banks collectively financed companies expanding fossil fuels with almost $25 billion.
Latest figures show that 2024 is likely to surpass 2023 as the hottest year on record, and the UN has previously called investment in the fossil fuel industry “moral and economic madness”. The expansion of oil and gas is incompatible with limiting global heating to 1.5°C, according to the UN, the International Energy Agency and thousands of leading climate scientists.
Sr Susan Francois CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, one of the signatories, said: “We believe that we have a fiduciary responsibility to earth and present and future generations. We signed this statement because we agree with Pope Francis that we must transform the economy from one that kills into an economy of life.”
Sr Jessica Gatty ra, JPIC Representative for the Religious of the Assumption, said: “The climate crisis is with us now; we all need to do what we can not only as individuals but as institutions too.”
There is a strong precedent of Christian organisations taking action on their banks’ fossil fuel financing. The move follows in the footsteps of Christian Aid, Sheffield Cathedral and Greenbelt Festival, all of whom announced plans to leave Barclays last year due to its fossil fuel financing.
The statement highlights that the climate crisis will not only affect future generations, but is already affecting the most vulnerable today, especially in the Global South. The signatories stress that this is an effort to align their financial choices with their own values. The signatories have said that until the banks halt their financing of new fossil fuels they will continue to speak out and consider alternative banking options wherever possible.
James Buchanan, Climate Finance Campaign Manager at Laudato SI' Movement, said: “This largest-ever call for action from Christian organisations to UK banks financing new fossil fuels demonstrates the significant concern of religious groups about the role of banks in fuelling the climate crisis. Given the leading role of faith institutions in divesting from fossil fuel companies, banks financing fossil fuel expansion can expect to lose a growing number of clients, as faith groups move their money to ethical banks.”
The statement remains open for UK-based Christian organisations wishing to sign. You can read the full statement and see a full list of signatories here.
For more information on how your religious order can divest from fossil fuel companies and switch to an ethical bank, see the resources on the Laudato Si’ Movement website and/or contact James Buchanan on james@laudatosimovement.org