As major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call for a just economic recovery into practice.
Forty-two faith institutions from 14 countries recently announced their divestment from fossil fuels, the largest ever divestment of its kind. It comes from institutions in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Myanmar, Spain, the UK, and the United States.
In May, a new report from Operation Noah showed that none of the major oil companies are compliant with the Paris agreement targets. The former archbishop of Canterbury, the Rev Dr Rowan Williams, said in response to the report: “The current health crisis has highlighted as never before the need for coherent international action in the face of global threat. Can we learn the lesson and apply it to the global threat of climate change? To do so means taking practical and eff ective steps to reduce our lethal dependence on fossil fuels.”