Extract from Lords debate on Green Finance - Jan 18
Friday, 19 January 2018 08:30
The Lord Bishop of Durham:...Sustainability starts with
transparency. There must be a culture change in financial reporting
methods so that companies disclose to shareholders and investors
the full extent of their carbon footprint and how they are working
to reduce it. This was the recommendation of the Financial
Stability Board of the G20 last year. I am proud to say that the
Church Commissioners were recently successful in passing a
shareholders’ resolution asking the oil giant Exxon to...Request free trial
The Lord :...Sustainability
starts with transparency. There must be a culture change in
financial reporting methods so that companies disclose to
shareholders and investors the full extent of their carbon
footprint and how they are working to reduce it. This was the
recommendation of the Financial Stability Board of the G20 last
year. I am proud to say that the Church Commissioners were recently
successful in passing a shareholders’ resolution asking the oil
giant Exxon to report on how its business model will be affected by
global efforts to limit the average rise in temperatures to below 2
degrees centigrade. As Christians, we in the Church recognise that
humanity has a God-given responsibility for the stewardship and
care of the earth and its creatures, and this is just one part of
embracing that responsibility. Several of Exxon’s peers,
including BP and Shell, have already followed suit,
sending out a very strong signal that investors expect businesses
to integrate climate change considerations into their business
strategies and disclosures. Crucially, however, these disclosures
are not mandatory for all companies. Will the United Kingdom
Government consider introducing mandatory carbon emissions
reporting for companies to ensure that investors have all the
information they need?...
(LD):...Starting with resilience and transparency,
historically UK pension investments were dominated by fossil fuels,
not least because of the position of Shell and BP in the FTSE. A managed retreat
from that exposure to fossil fuels is in our interests not just
societally but in terms of our pensions. Progress has been made but
it should be noted that the value of local council pension fund
holdings in fossil fuels has actually risen 15% to £16 billion over
the past two years...
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