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Divestment from Fossil Fuels a Guide for Quaker Meetings

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Divestment from Fossil Fuels a Guide for Quaker Meetings Divestment from fossil fuels A guide for Quaker meetings Introduction This guide has been produced to encourage meetings to divest from fossil fuels. Divestment is an effective and important way to take action for climate justice. It is also a way of advancing Britain Yearly Meeting’s commitment to become a low-carbon, sustainable community. The advice is intended for Friends in meetings who are concerned about climate justice and fossil fuel divestment. It is also aimed at area meeting trustees and treasurers taskedQ Logo - Monowith - All White.pdf 1 02.02.2015 01.33 pm making and implementing investment decisions. In 2013 Quakers in Britain agreed that their centrally-held fundsC should not be invested in fossil fuel extraction companies, and M that existing investments in these should be sold. The decision Y also expressed a desire to invest in positive alternatives. Since then many area meetings have been following suit. This guide CM will support additional meetings to do the same. MY CY This guide should not be considered investment or financial advice. CMY K Investment and divestment When you, or your local or area meeting, invest money, you buy stocks, bonds or other investments, with the aim of getting a profitable return. You might also invest cash savings in a bank or building society. Divestment, or ‘disinvestment’ as it is sometimes termed, is the opposite of investment. It simply means get- ting rid of investments in a particular company or industry you consider to be unethical or contrary to your values. The investment might be a particular stock, bond or fund that includes one or more unethical stocks. Why divest from fossil fuels “70–75 per cent of known [our emphasis] fossil fuels would have to be left unused in order to have a 50 (and invest in climate solutions)? per cent chance of limiting global temperature rise 4 Ethical reasons to below 2°C”. Yet companies are still exploring for additional oil, coal and gas reserves. “The guiding principle which Friends should keep By refusing to profit from the industry, and publicly in mind in making an income, whether by work naming the damage it causes, the fossil fuel divest- or by investment, should be the good of others ment campaign confronts one of the root causes of and of the community at large, and not simply of climate injustice. It names and then undermines one themselves or their own family. Friends should, of the main beneficiaries of the fossil-fuelled economy. even at the risk of loss, strive to be strictly honest It challenges this business model and exposes the and truthful in their dealings; should refuse to contradiction of reducing the global carbon budget manufacture or deal in commodities that are while increasing fossil fuel reserves. hurtful, and should be vigilant against obtaining an undue profit at the cost of the community. Instead, we can invest our money in climate solutions If Friends are investing, thought should be given, such as renewable energy, and in other activity need- not only to security and the rate of interest, but ed as part of a just transition. According to some to the conditions under which the income is estimates, to meet the Paris climate goals, investment produced and the effect which the investment in new renewable power generation must increase may have on the welfare of all, through social or by 75 per cent above current expected trajectory. environmental impact, at home or elsewhere.” Money divested from the fossil fuel industry can be 5 Quaker faith & practice 20.56 reinvested to meet this gap. Divestment from fossil fuel extraction – particularly if Financial reasons the act is publicised as an ethical decision – indicates The value of fossil fuels is based on them being able a refusal to profit from the fossil fuel industry, helping to be extracted and burned in the future. But if leg- to question its social and financial acceptability. This islation or demand were to change there would be in turn can create space for restrictive legislation on a sudden drop in the financial worth of these assets. extraction and production. It also opens up oppor- Impax Asset Management said in 2016 that “there tunities for clean alternatives. are strong indications that today’s prices of energy We still live in a largely fossil fuel-based economy. stocks do not account for the risk” of intervention The extraction of fossil fuels is often destructive and to reduce fossil fuel pollution.6 unjust to local communities and the environment. Trustees of charities (including area meetings) have The burning of fossil fuels is a key driver of climate a fiduciary duty to yield the best return for their change. We have already seen warming of over 1°C, beneficiaries without undue exposure to risk, and as and are on track to experience 4.8°C warming by consistent with the charities’ values. Recent guidance 1 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. This would has clarified that this includes taking into account 2 have catastrophic consequences. future risk to the value of assets, including as a result As part of the Paris Agreement in 2015, 196 nations, of social objections. Legal opinion, such as that com- including the UK, pledged to hold global warming missioned by Bates Wells Brathwaite, has concluded to “well below 2 degrees” and to “pursue efforts that “investment in carbon-intensive assets could to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees”.3 be said to be irreconcilable with the intent behind This means there needs to be a reduced global charities’ general or specific environmental purposes” carbon budget (i.e. the amount of carbon that can among other things.7 So fossil fuel divestment may be be emitted). The UK has its own carbon budget. both financially and legally prudent, as well as morally In December 2016 the UK government said that desirable. How to divest from fossil fuels meeting business meeting) to consider the ethical and financial arguments above. You may find that The divestment movement asks institutions holding there are varying opinions. See the case studies investments to resolve to: of meetings that have already divested for some • immediately freeze any new investment in the ideas of what shape these discussions might take. top 200 publicly-traded fossil fuel companies 4. Divest and reinvest (see https://gofossilfree.org/top-200; you need to • If you decide to commit to divest, celebrate your register to download the list) commitment! Fossil fuel divestment is most effec- • divest from investments that include fossil fuel tive if you make it public, so that your area meet- stocks and shares and corporate bonds within ing decision can be part of the growing global five years. movement, changing the way in which fossil fuel You could also consider how money invested in fossil extraction is viewed. Tell Quaker Peace & Social fuels could be reinvested into clean energy, local Witness (QPSW) – we would like to know so infrastructure or other public goods. we can share the news and offer support. Share the news locally, perhaps with your local media. Step-by-step guide • Plan how to move your investments, either 1. Find out what money you hold as an area yourself or with your investment manager. If you meeting – do you have investments? have an investment manager you may just be • Where and how are they held? Do you have an able to instruct them to shift your investment to investment manager, or do you look after your ‘fossil-free’ options. If you look after your invest- investments yourself? ments you will need to do some research and • Find out whether these investments include fossil decision-making yourself. fuel companies. It is likely that unless you have • You may want to go further than just making deliberately chosen a fossil-free fund or account sure that your investments are fossil-free. How you will have investments in these companies. could you positively invest in climate solutions You can do this by getting in touch with the fund instead? Could you put some money into a local manager, or whoever runs the fund, and asking sustainability project? A good place to start them if they are invested in the top 200 publicly- would be Ethical Consumer and its research and traded fossil fuels (see above). Ask them what guidance on carbon divestment.8 their policy is with regard to fossil fuel companies. • Even if you don’t have investments, you could • This will involve working with the appropriate still make sure that the bank or building society office-holders such as the treasurer and/or area where you have your current account does not meeting trustees. invest in fossil fuels. Again, Ethical Consumer has 9 2. Raise awareness and support conversation helpful guidance. about climate justice, fossil fuels and divestment. See below for some ideas. Beyond your area meeting – • If you are an advocate of the idea within your area meeting, but others aren’t so keen or just more action for climate justice don’t know much, then you may want to offer to Fossil fuel divestment is a global movement, and share something – a talk or a short briefing – at there are fossil-free churches, universities, councils, a business meeting. You could suggest setting up towns, and pensions. There may well be active fossil a small group to explore the idea and make fuel divestment campaigns happening locally that you/ recommendations to the area meeting trustees. your meeting could also get involved in. See Fossil 3. Make a decision Free UK (https://gofossilfree.org/uk), home of the • If you find that you have no investments in fossil fossil fuel divestment movement, which also cam- fuels (or even if you have no investments at all), paigns for no new fossil fuel projects in the UK.
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