With approval of the overture CLJ-02, “Changing Course for a Green Future,” the PC(USA) has made an historic decision to remove the great bulk of its investments from the fossil fuel industry. This is an acknowledgement that the warming of the planet resulting from the burning of fossil fuels is the greatest threat to life on earth since the last Ice age.
In acceptance of all items in the consent agenda, commissioners gathered in Milwaukee have taken decisive action to call on the denomination’s two fiduciaries, the Presbyterian Foundation and the Board of Pensions to remove their funds from the great majority of its fossil fuel industry investments in the over 50 companies which are currently held in their respective portfolios “by 2030 or as soon thereafter as prudent management allows” and to “cease from initiating new investments in such companies”.
After 12 years of effort by thousands of faithful Presbyterians on overtures calling for the removal of fossil fuel investments and Presbyteries voting to support it 147 times, the 227th General Assembly has at long last heard the cries of the planet. The overture was drafted by a joint writing team composed of members from Presbyterians for Earth Care and Creation Action Network of Presbyterian Young Adults, and sponsored by the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley with several other presbyteries in concurrence.
We are grateful for the staff and leadership of the church’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment and Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, with whom we consulted frequently during the overture development process, as well as during the assembly. This collaborative relationship bodes well for the next steps in which MRTI will play a key role.
This aligns our investment actions with our church’s commitment to the science-based goals of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Accords of making significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 in order to hold global warming to below 2.0 degrees Celsius (and, if possible, 1.5 degrees Celsius) beyond pre-industrial levels. While selling our stocks does not directly contribute to these goals, it does remove our church’s contribution to their destructive impacts and the industry’s social license as a form of witness to our values and solidarity with all those most vulnerable to the ravages of climate chaos while also freeing up funds which may be re-directed, as the approved overture suggests, to the support of ethically produced renewable sources of energy.
This divestment effort began in 2014, with the groundbreaking work of First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, CA, in the creation of the Fossil Free PC(USA) initiative under the auspices of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. For the last six years, it has been led by Presbyterians for Earth Care and was joined by the new group, Creation Action Network for Presbyterian Young Adults, a year ago. At their pre-GA gathering on June 26, PPF presented its 2025 Peaceseeker Award to PEC for its work on the divestment issue over the years, as well as for its contributions to the organization of the new CANOPY organization.
We call on all members of the PC(USA) to pause for a moment of prayer in gratitude to God and to all those who, across the last 12 years, worked toward this day. We also call on the church and its members to redouble our efforts toward a just and sustainable shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels and to advocate for simpler ways of living that demand less energy use while recognizing the necessity of continuing to develop ethically resourced systems for the production and storage of renewable energy.
CONTACTS:
Fred Milligan, Co-facilitator of PEC Advocacy Committee
email: [email protected]
Ph. (917)544-2931
Drew Hill, Representative of CANOPY and Overture Advocate from Santa Fe Presbytery
Email: [email protected]
Ph:(505) 660-5434
Pam McVety, past member of Fossil Free PC(USA), member of PEC and Overture Advocate from Florida Presbytery –
email: [email protected]
Ph: (850) 422-1440
