Epworth Investment Management – which is owned by the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church and oversees its investments – has sold its remaining company holdings in the oil and gas sector.
This follows advice received from the Methodist Church’s Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment (JACEI) in April 2021, that no companies in the sector are currently aligned with the climate change targets set out by the 2015 Paris Accord.
For over three years, JACEI has been assessing companies in the oil and gas sector against the targets set by the Paris Accord using a number of metrics.
The Methodist Church recognised the climate emergency at its 2019 Conference and is in the process of determining how it might bring forward to 2030 its commitment to achieve net zero emissions.
Revd Dr Stephen Wigley, Chair of JACEI, said: “The Committee has determined that the slow pace of corporate change means that the oil and gas sector is failing to meet the targets set by the Paris Accord.”
David Palmer, Chief Executive of Epworth Investment Management, added: “The Central Finance Board and Epworth have long been committed to engaging with companies around issues that negatively impact the poor and God’s creation.
“The pace of change across the oil and gas sector has been inadequate and we welcome the recommendation of JACEI to disinvest.”
