The Church of England (CofE) Pensions Board has decided to divest its holding in oil giant Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) over what it said were insufficient plans to align its strategy to the goal of limiting global warming, Reuters has reported.
The CofE pensions board has around £1.35mln invested in Shell of its total £3.2bn in investments.
On Thursday, the CofE’s separate £10.3bn Church Commissioners fund said it will also divest all remaining oil and gas companies from its portfolio, including Shell, BP PLC (LSE:BP.), Equinor and TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TOT, EPA:TTE), Reuters noted.
"The Church will follow not just the science, but our faith – both of which call us to work for climate justice," Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in Thursday's statement.
The CofE Pensions Board said in its statement today that it would no longer prioritise engagement with the oil and gas sector on climate change and would instead refocus its efforts on reshaping the demand for oil and gas from sectors such as the auto industry.
A Shell spokesperson, quoted by Reuters, said the Church funds' decisions were "disappointing, but not surprising".
“After years of trying to change these companies from within, the Church of England has clearly lost faith in Shell and other oil giants,” Greenpeace advisor Charlie Kronick commented. “This should be a moment of moral reckoning for other investors and for our government.”