Climate change is a real and urgent threat to humanity’s current way of life. As Quakers, we see it as imperative that governments must take immediate action to curb climate change. When governments are unwilling to take swift action, then we turn to divestment as a way to make our concerns heard.
Divestment from fossil fuel stocks calls for a halt in profiting from the destruction of the earth that fossil fuel emissions create. Divesting is congruent with our testimonies of peace, equality, community, and simplicity since climate change will sow the seeds of
war, poverty, and injustice.
While Strawberry Creek holds no stock of any kind, we recommend the divestment of fossil fuel stocks or funds by all Quaker bodies, including Friends Fiduciary, and we commit to not buying any fossil fuel stocks and funds in the future.
Fossil fuel companies have not been responsive quickly enough to shareholder advocacy and they make clear that they will keep on taking oil, gas and coal from the earth, even if it warms the earth more than two degrees centigrade, a rise that scientists have agreed we must not go above. We applaud Friends Fiduciary for recently establishing a green fund, but we request that they divest from all fossil fuels in their portfolio.
Divestment makes way for reinvestment in green, sustainable energy causes and in thriving local economies. We recognize that our lifestyle contributes to climate change any time we consume fossil fuels. While we are all currently dependent on fossil fuels, we hope to see more affordable, efficient choices in the future to use water, wind and solar energy to power our lives. We would like fossil fuel companies to stop blocking legislation that would slow climate change, to stop receiving governmental subsidies, and to become transparent in their funding of political candidates.
Strawberry Creek Monthly Meeting approved an Earthcare testimony in 2010 which reinforced our commitment to stewardship of the earth. In part it says, “We feel a sense of urgency to bring our lives into right relationship with the community of life on earth. We are called to be faithful to continuing revelation in these matters…”
We urge Meetings and other Quaker bodies to divest as a needed tactic in an effort to contain climate change.