The Acts of Convention

Committee Amendment:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church welcome the release of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed carbon rule for existing power plants (Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, 79 Fed.Reg. 34829 (proposed June 18, 2014) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. Pt. 60)); power plants are the single largest source of carbon dioxide pollution in the United States and major contributors to climate change; these emissions not only threaten the environmental stability of our planet, but also the health of young children and their families, disproportionally affecting the poorest among us and all of God's good Creation; and be it further

Resolved, Thatthe House of Deputies concurring, that the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church the Church recommit to Oppose Environmental Racismoppose environmental racism, coal, gas, oil, and uranium extraction and subsequent transportation threaten the health, sanctity of communities, and the livelihood of future generations; we seek to eliminate the locating of coal and mineral extractive and processing industries disproportionately near neighborhoods inhabited by people of color and low income communities; and be it furtherexpressed in such ways as the locating of extraction, production, and disposal industries where they disproportionately harm neighborhoods inhabited by people of color and low income communities.

Resolved, That because there continue to be diverse opinions and voices concerning whether the Church should divest its holdings in fossil fuel extraction companies as well as those that use substantial amounts of such fuels, it is important that we as a Church have extensive conversations on this critical issue, and we therefore ask that the Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility of the Executive Council and the Church Pension Fund, in consultation with experts in the fields of economics and investing, ethics, renewable energy development, jointly to assess whether the benefit of a divestment strategy would be in compliance with our values, and issue a report thereon by the Summer of 2016; and we call on upon the Executive Council to facilitate church-wide dialogue on this subject following the issuance of this report and communicate the results of the dialogue to the 79th General Convention.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #82)