By Clare Fussell, Operation Noah’s Campaign Director 

For many Christians, stewardship isn’t just about what happens on a Sunday morning, it’s about how we live every day of the week. From the way we care for the world around us, to the way we use our money, our faith calls us to act responsibly and justly. This Good Money Week (6-12 October) we consider that where we choose to bank, save, and invest can either fuel the climate crisis or help to build a fairer, greener future.

The Bible is clear that the earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1); yet financial systems often channel billions of pounds into industries that harm creation, including fossil fuels. Whether through personal savings, pensions, or church endowments, Christians are unintentionally funding climate destruction. Actively aligning our finances with our faith is an act of discipleship, justice, and hope.

Steps you can take:

1. Bank Ethically

Many high-street banks still lend heavily to oil, gas, and coal. By switching to banks and building societies that refuse to fund fossil fuel expansion, you can ensure your money supports sustainable lending. Find out how your bank ranks using this Bank Green tool, and commit to switching to a green bank account through our Big Bank Switch campaign. 

2. Review Your Pensions and Savings

Pensions are often the largest investment most people hold, yet they are also a major source of fossil fuel finance. Moving pensions into funds that exclude fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions can cut carbon and protect long-term value. Sign this petition from our friends at JustMoney Movement to call for greener, fairer pensions. 

3. Get Your Church to Divest from Fossil Fuels

The fossil fuel divestment campaign has moved billions of church funds away from oil, gas and coal – and has also helped turn the tide of public opinion against these companies. As well as reducing capital for fossil fuel expansion, it’s also made it more politically toxic for governments to continue to back new oil and gas. According to research into the oil and gas sector across thirty-three countries published in the Journal of Economic Geography, divestment can reduce access to capital for fossil fuel companies and make further exploration more difficult.

But many churches still hold bank accounts with dirty banks that fund fossil fuel expansion, and their reserves may well be invested in fossil fuels as well. Ask your church to commit to divesting from fossil fuels this Good Money Week. 

4. Invest in Climate Solutions

It is not enough to divest from fossil fuels; we must also reinvest in the alternatives. Ask your church to sign up for the Green Investment Declaration, and join other faith institutions committed to moving funds into supporting the green transition through, for example:

• renewable energy projects such as wind and solar farms – and faith institutions can even consider community energy projects that give congregations a stake in local clean power.
• green bonds that finance low-carbon infrastructure
• impact funds that back sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and peatland protection.

It’s important that churches, faith institutions and individuals support the green economy through their investments. A company’s share price affects how it’s viewed by the market and, crucially, ratings agencies and banks, and so impacts its ability to raise new funds to support expansion, as it underpins their ability to raise debt – and so there is a direct correlation between share price and the financing of green projects. 

Therefore, if the share price drops, this has a knock on effect on a company meaning it costs them more to raise debt to build, for example, new renewables projects. Ethical Consumer has this to say in their review of ethical funds: ‘By purchasing shares you are expressing support for that company and the industry it represents – similar to how your vote at an election is a vote of confidence for a specific candidate and their wider political party.’

A Call to Action

Good Money Week is a reminder that change is possible. If Christians collectively shifted their finances away from fossil fuels and towards climate solutions, the impact could be transformative. As Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ (Matthew 6:21). Financial choices are not only economic, they are spiritual. By ensuring our money supports life-giving industries rather than life-destroying ones, we can show integrity in our stewardship. Every pound invested well can be an act of love for our neighbour and for creation.

Putting our money where our faith is allows our finances to bear witness to the hope of God’s kingdom: a just, sustainable, and flourishing creation.