I am the convener of a group that is reviving and revisioning Fossil Free UMC in the leadup to next year’s General Conference, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 23 through May 3. Our group will focus on moving United Methodists to divest their financial holdings away from fossil fuels and to instead invest in solar and other climate-friendly solutions for a just and sustainable future.
Our group is an outgrowth of a process of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM) of creating model resolutions for annual conferences. Some of us worked on the climate finance subcommittee, and that group drafted three resolutions, including the petition to next year’s General Conference that proposes adding “fossil fuels” to the list of business activities United Methodist are not to invest in (often referred to as “ethical investment screens.”) Four annual conferences have submitted this petition to General Conference. See the California-Nevada version of the petition here.
¶ 717 …In addition, United Methodist institutions shall endeavor to avoid investments in companies engaged in core business activities that are not aligned with the Social Principles through their direct or indirect involvement [with fossil fuels,] with the production of anti‐personnel weapons and armaments (both nuclear and conventional weapons), alcoholic beverages or tobacco; or that are involved in privately operated correctional facilities, gambling, pornography or other forms of exploitative adult entertainment. The boards and agencies are to give careful consideration to environmental, social, and governance factors when making investment decisions…. —The United Methodist Book of Discipline, 2016
Some of the members of our new group were also active back in the Fossil Free UMC movement leading up to General Conference 2016, when a similar petition failed. Since then, greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated, average global temperatures have risen, and heat waves and other extreme weather events have become more destructive and widespread. More people are more aware of the climate crisis, including people in our churches. We are hopeful that this may be the moment when our beloved United Methodist Church will rise to the challenge, stop funding the fossil fuel industry, and invest instead in projects and technologies that will lead us to a just and sustainable clean energy future.
This new iteration of Fossil Free UMC will be distinct from the earlier movement, with new messaging for a new moment, including language, content, and presentation. We have a huge task ahead to educate delegates and others on why this petition should be passed. We will include updated information as part of our educational efforts. Stressing climate justice will be primary.
The new Fossil Free UMC will continue to work closely with the UM Creation Justice Movement, which provides cohesion and connection for all of us United Methodists who have a passion for creation justice. UMCJM will also be working toward General Conference and will highlight our petition as well as several others that focus on green teams, land use, net zero, just partnerships and other essential issues related to God’s good creation and justice for those most vulnerable.
Our 2016 Fossil Free UMC mission was: “to convince the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (GBPHB) of The United Methodist Church to divest from fossil fuel companies and to reinvest in clean energy companies, and to add coal, petroleum and natural gas to the list of socially responsible investment screens in the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions.”
In contrast, this time we have agreed to bypass trying to convince Westpath, successor to the GBPHB, to divest. We want to maintain good working relationships with Westpath and other UM boards and agencies that are also connected with UMCJM so that we can work on common concerns and initiatives together.
We are still developing our new mission statement, but we know our primary goal will be to pass the 2020 General Conference petition to add “fossil fuels” to the list of ethical investment screens. We are meeting again soon to clarify our statement and to expand our mission to include language (still to be drafted) that calls on the church to invest in sectors that will move us toward an immediate and just transition to a clean energy future.
Sharon Delgado is an ordained Elder, Chair of the California-Nevada Climate Justice Ministries Task Force, and Convener of the newly revived Fossil Free UMC. She is author of Love in a Time of Climate Change, Shaking the Gates of Hell, and The Cross in the Midst of Creation. Her website is at sharondelgado.org.
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