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Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben is passionate about pursuing energy that comes from above — sun and wind, rather than from below — coal, oil and gas, fossil fuels that he says are literally “decreating” planet Earth.
Another hot and dry summer last year caused many heat-related issues and stresses for farmers in Central Europe. Plants had to be watered around the clock, just to keep them alive.
For hours, Fossil Free PCUSA representatives lay scattered across the floor outside of the convention hall at the 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis last week. The “die-in” was in response to the commissioners’ decision to accept a minority report asking the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to continue its engagement with fossil fuel companies.
Despite some heat, a few blisters and at least one case of poison ivy, participants in the PC(USA) Walk for a Fossil Free World are encouraged as they enter the final days of their trek to St. Louis. The walk, a joint project of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Fossil Free PCUSA, began June 1 at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville. It ends June 16 at the start of the 223rd General Assembly.
Presbyterian News Service recently submitted questions to Joseph Kinaird, chair of the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) about the upcoming General Assembly in St. Louis and its continuous discussions with the fossil fuel industry.
With gray and overcast skies above them, a group of 25 to 30 people gathered at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville on Friday morning to begin a two-week trek to St. Louis on foot. The PC(USA) Walk for a Fossil Free World is a joint project of both the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Fossil Free PCUSA to stand against investment in the fossil fuel industry.
Several issues are shaping up to take center stage June 16–23 when the 223rd General Assembly convenes in St. Louis.
The first order of business for the 538 commissioners and about 200 advisory delegates will be to elect their moderator. Then the 13 Assembly committees will work their way through the items of business this Assembly will consider.
The Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) says 2017 was a productive year in its engagement with corporations. MRTI filed or co-filed seven shareholder resolutions in the 2017 proxy season, with oil, gas and utility companies, and one resolution with Wells Fargo.
In response to its directive from the 222nd General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) has come up with a new way of measuring the progress it makes with companies engaged in conversations around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Presbyterians attending Big Tent in St. Louis had an opportunity to hear the pros and cons of divesting from fossil fuel companies. The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement hosted a workshop bringing together representatives to discuss when and if divestment should take place.