With the Diocese of Chichester’s decision to divest from two fossil fuel companies, every diocese in the Church of England has now joined the Church of England’s National Investing Bodies in making Church of England money off-limits to the industry driving global heating
9 December 2025: Operation Noah is pleased to announce that the Diocese of Chichester has divested from BP and Shell and no longer holds any investments in fossil fuel companies. Chichester was the final Church of England diocese to divest; now that it has, all 42 Church of England dioceses have taken their money out of fossil fuels, as have the National Investing Bodies of the Church of England, which include the Pensions Board and Church Commissioners.
The full divestment by the Church of England is the culmination of Operation Noah’s Bright Now Campaign, which for over 10 years has worked to ensure that UK Churches and faith bodies take their money out of fossil fuels and stop funding the driving cause of global heating. Nearly every major UK denomination has now done so, representing tens of billions of pounds of assets under management; the notable exception to this is the Catholic Church in England and Wales, where only 14 of 21 dioceses have so far made a fossil fuel divestment commitment.
When asked for comment on its recent fossil fuel divestment, Chichester issued this statement:
‘At its November meeting, the Diocese of Chichester Synod received a report from the Assets Committee outlining recent investment decisions. In November 2023, Synod had approved a policy that would remain invested in BP and Shell provided both companies continued to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Following its review on 30 July 2025, the Assets Committee concluded that the plans of both BP and Shell were no longer aligned to the Paris Agreement. The Committee therefore decided to divest from both companies. The Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) confirms that the Diocese’s overall investment policy remains unchanged and continues to follow the National Church’s ethical investment guidelines.’
In reaction to Chichester’s announcement, Operation Noah’s Campaign Director Clare Fussell said, ‘We welcome the news that the Diocese of Chichester has sold its remaining shares in BP and Shell, bringing an end to its investments in planet-heating fossil fuels. While we encourage the Diocese to update its investment policy to reflect this decisive step, we also recognise the significance of this moment: after more than a decade of our persistent campaigning, the entire Church of England is now free of fossil fuel investments. This is a milestone to be celebrated.’
Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Chair of Operation Noah’s Board of Trustees, said, ‘For more than a decade, Operation Noah’s Bright Now campaign has helped to move significant amounts of money out of fossil fuels, but more than that, it has challenged Christian communities to think carefully about the ways in which we invest our money, and how those investments align – or don’t align – with our values. Now that we understand the incredible damage being caused by fossil fuel companies and their unwillingness to change, the UK Church has largely spoken with one voice: fossil fuels are not an ethical investment and should be prohibited in the same way that we prohibit investments in arms, tobacco or gambling.’
As Operation Noah wraps up its Bright Now divestment campaign – for which we won ‘Campaign of the Year’ at the SMK National Campaigner Awards – we are now calling on denominations and faith groups around the world to sign our Green Investment Declaration and dedicate an initial 5% of their investment portfolio to funding climate solutions.
Operation Noah is an ecumenical Christian charity working to inspire the Church to take action on the climate crisis. In addition to divesting from fossil fuels, Operation Noah encourages Churches around the world to invest in climate solutions alongside implementing better land use practices, such as peat restoration and tree growing. Learn more at www.operationnoah.org.
