Operation Noah is delighted to announce that 22 of 42 Church of England dioceses have now made a full commitment to divest from fossil fuels. The Diocese of Canterbury, Diocese of Coventry, Diocese of Ely and Diocese of Hereford have recently confirmed that they will divest from fossil fuel companies by the end of December 2023 (Hereford) or have previously divested and will not be reinvesting in fossil fuels in future (Canterbury, Coventry and Ely). 

We want to pay tribute to all the diocesan staff and volunteers who have worked hard to make these changes happen, and to all the campaigners who have encouraged them along the way. We are pleased that more and more faith investors are heeding the warning made so strongly in the latest IPCC report that we need to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible. New oil and gas developments are incompatible with the narrow opportunity to limit global heating to 1.5°C. 

In the Diocese of Canterbury, the Archbishop’s Council reaffirmed its current stance of holding no fossil fuel investments and committed not to invest in fossil fuel companies in the future.

Diocese of Coventry made the decision to support divestment was made by the Diocesan Synod.

The divestment decision in the Diocese of Ely was made by the Investments Sub-Committee and then adopted by their Finance Committee and noted by the company directors.

The Diocese of Hereford Diocesan Synod made a decision last weekend to complete divestment from fossil fuels by December this year. The Archdeacon of Hereford shared the good news on Twitter.

If you would like to encourage your diocese to make a divestment commitment, you can find out more in our Church of England divestment guide here. 

Join the Global Divestment Announcement on 20 April 2023 

If you would be interested in getting your local church, regional Church structures or religious order to make a divestment commitment, we would be delighted to hear from you.

This involves making a commitment to divest any investments in fossil fuel companies within a five year timeframe and a pledge not to invest in fossil fuels in the future. Even if your church or faith institution doesn’t currently hold any fossil fuel investments (for instance, if it only has a bank account), it can make a powerful statement by pledging not to invest in fossil fuels in the future. Please get in touch with Bokani Tshidzu on before 12 April 2023 for further information or to register your interest.