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MRTI adds 10 fossil fuel companies, four countries to divestment list

Decisions made by last summer's GA226 expand the prohibited securities for PC(USA) agencies.

A coal mining factory belches smoke into the air

Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash

Quick summary: A compromise action by GA226 in Salt Lake City, Utah, added the “top 10” fossil fuel companies to the PC(USA) prohibited securities list. The companies are: Saudi Arabian Oil Co, Reliance Industries Ltd, PetroChina Co Ltd, Shell, TotalEnergies, China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd., China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Petroleo Brasileiro, Enbridge, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. 

The Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has added 14 entities to its prohibited securities list.

The list, created as a result of criteria enacted by the 196th General Assembly in 1984, directs the denomination’s investing agencies not to invest in and/or divest from specific companies based on these criteria. Actions of the 226th General Assembly, which met in the summer of 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah, resulted in the addition of four countries and 10 fossil fuel corporations to this list, which took effect January 1, 2025.

A commissioner’s resolution developed in collaboration with the Palestine Justice Network (at the time, known as the Israel/Palestine Mission Network) was adopted by the GA finance committee as FIN-15 and approved by commissioners. The resolution asks PC(USA) investing agencies to divest from government debt held by countries engaged in prolonged military occupations as designated by the United Nations. 

The resolution’s language indicates investment could be reconsidered when the military occupations have ended and calls upon MRTI to “examine the feasibility of developing a mechanism to establish and maintain the list of countries whose governmental debt would be impacted by this resolution.”

The United Nations-designated countries added to the list for 2025 divestment include Russia, Israel, Morocco and Turkey.

Commissioners line-up to speak on resolutions regarding Committee on Environmental and Climate Justice overtures. Photo by Jonathan Watson for Presbyterian Outlook.

As part of the compromise that brought about the approval of ENV-06 after GA commissioners overturned categorical divestment of all fossil fuel holdings (ENV-02), the assembly directed “MRTI to immediately identify the top ten fossil fuel companies that derive the majority of their profits from the exploration, development, and production of fossil fuels and with which there will be no promising engagement, and immediately divest from those companies.”

MRTI, acting at its October 14, 2024, meeting, voted to use market capitalization to determine these top 10 companies that had not shown promising engagement toward meeting climate goals.

The 10 companies identified and added to the PC(USA)’s prohibited securities list are Saudi Arabian Oil Co, Reliance Industries Ltd, PetroChina Co Ltd, Shell, TotalEnergies, China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd., China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Petroleo Brasileiro, Enbridge, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

“MRTI worked hard to respond faithfully to the General Assembly directive in ENV-06 and takes seriously the urgency of the climate crisis,” said the Rev. Marcella Glass, chair of MRTI. “We believe that identifying companies with the largest market capitalization most appropriately meets the spirit of the directive and we appreciate the assembly’s willingness to give MRTI discretion to continue engaging companies where we see promising engagement, which includes ConocoPhillips.”

As of June 30, 2024, before General Assembly 226, the Presbyterian Foundation and New Covenant Trust (NCTC) held $6.1 million in investments in the 10 named fossil fuel companies and held no shares in government debt for occupying countries. The combined foundation/NCTC portfolio value on this date was $2.68 billion.

A request for similar stock-holding data from the PC(USA) Board of Pensions was declined. It should be noted both groups have consistently applied MRTI guidance to their respective investment portfolios and divested from newly prohibited securities in a timely manner.

Addressing the Finance Committee of GA226, the Board of Pensions said referring the action of divesting from foreign national debt to MRTI [FIN-15] would “permit MRTI to assess the feasibility of developing an additional negative screen related to the sovereign debt of nations,” adding, “The Board of Pensions has been an active partner in and with MRTI since its inception and believes in its mission and its effectiveness.”

Similarly, the Presbyterian Foundation commented on MRTI’s work and the assembly’s recommendation to divest from the top fossil fuel companies [ENV-06], saying they “support the work that MRTI does and the values that our denomination instills in Presbyterians to encourage socially responsible investing and corporate responsibility.”

MRTI’s Glass affirmed the committee’s work doesn’t stop with fulfilling GA mandates, saying further analysis of progress with engaged companies is ongoing. 

“In 2025, MRTI will reevaluate its Guideline Metrics and will continue working with the companies identified for focused engagement ahead of the next assembly,” she said.

The next meeting of the PC(USA) Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment will be held March 11-14, 2025, in Puerto Rico and includes community engagement visits with two partners.

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