Thursday November 2 2017
The Church of Scotland and Christian Aid have welcomed new findings that 80% of the British public think it is morally wrong for banks to profit from investments that damage the environment.
The ComRes poll also showed that similar proportion of people did not want banks to invest their savings in projects that damage the environment.
The findings coincide with a new report published by Christian Aid showing how UK high street banks are funding companies behind some of the dirtiest fossil fuel projects in the world.
The report (pdf) concludes that two years on from the Paris Agreement on climate change, which the banks all agreed to help deliver, there has been no substantive change in the banks’ lending policies or actions.
Among the banks singled out in the report are RBS, Lloyds (who own Bank of Scotland), Barclays and HSBC.
Sally Foster-Fulton, head of Christian Aid Scotland, said: “The devastating effects of climate change are increasingly challenging, with people in the world’s poorest communities, those who have least to do with causing this chaos, finding themselves on the front line, struggling with severe flooding, storms, droughts, and unpredictable seasons.
“Banks and investors - including those based here in Scotland - need to move away from investing in fossil fuels and put more emphasis on financing a low-carbon future. It is heartening to see such overwhelming public support for money to be invested in a sustainable future where all can flourish. The banks need to recognise the urgency and take positive action”.
The Rev Dr Richard Frazer, convener of the Church and Society Council, said: “I know that members of congregations are among those who are worried about how banks are using their money.
“The Good Money Week conference held in Edinburgh on October 12 this year highlighted these concerns and how churches are deeply involved in this debate.
“We are committed to working for climate justice and know from partner churches around the world of the threat that climate change poses for some of the world’s poorest communities.
“I commend the work of Christian Aid in bringing this research to wider attention and encourage all churches to get involved in this debate.”
Post Tags: christian aid, climate change
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Rev Dr John Cameron - Saturday, November 4th, 2017
“"Sally Foster-Fulton, head of Christian Aid Scotland, said: “The devastating effects of climate change are increasingly challenging, etc. etc. "
There has been no credible increase in global temperatures for over 20 years - more than the 15 year period limit for "the pause" provided by the AGWT advocates themselves.
The warming peak observed in 2015-2016, the “hottest year on record,” gave the impression that the temperature standstill stopped in 2014 but that peak was unrelated to anthropogenic forcing: it simply emerged from the natural fast fluctuations of the climate associated to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.
The fact is that the temperature trend during the 21st century clearly diverges from the general circulation model (GCM) simulations. Thus, the GCMs models used to support the AGWT are very likely flawed. By contrast, the semi-empirical climate models based natural climatic oscillations which are astronomically induced plus a significantly reduced anthropogenic contribution, agree far better with the latest observations.”
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