The Acts of Convention

House of Bishops

The House of Bishops Committee on Environmental Stewardship and Care of Creation presented its Report #4 on Resolution C045 (Environmentally Responsible Investing) and moved adoption with amendment.

Original Text of Resolution:

(C045)

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 78th General Convention join with Episcopalians for Fossil Fuel Divestment/Reinvestment who share a common commitment to act for a sustainable environment in calling upon the Episcopal Church Pension Fund and the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund to divest from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean renewable energy, and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention calls on the Episcopal Church Pension Fund and the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund to adopt a policy to refrain from this time forward from purchasing any new holdings of public equities and corporate bonds of the world’s leading 200 fossil fuel companies as identified by the Carbon Underground, and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention calls on the Episcopal Church Pension Fund and the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund to develop and implement a plan to divest within five years from direct ownership of public equities and corporate bonds of the world’s leading 200 fossil fuel companies as identified by the Carbon Underground, and be it further

Resolved, That, given the proven dangers to the environment and all life on earth fur to the burning of fossil fuels, and given fossil fuel companies’ business plans to extract and use all fossil fuel reserves in the ground, the 78th General Convention urges all dioceses of the Episcopal Church and the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes to engage the topic of divestment from fossil fuels and reinvestment in clean energy within the coming year.

Committee Amendment:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, that the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church welcomes the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon rule for existing power plants; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention join with Episcopalians for Fossil Fuel Divestment/Reinvestment who share a common commitment to act for a sustainable environment in callingcalls upon the Investment Committee of the Executive Council, the Episcopal Church Pension Fund, the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund, and the Episcopal Church Foundation to divest from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean renewable energy in a fiscally responsible manner, and be it further

Resolved, That this the 78th General Convention calls on the Investment Committee of the Executive Council, the Episcopal Church Pension Fund, the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund, and the Episcopal Church Foundation to adopt a policy to refrain from this time forward from purchasing any new holdings of public equities and corporate bonds of the world’s leading 200 fossil fuel companies as identified by the Carbon Underground, and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention calls on the Episcopal Church Pension Fund and the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund to develop and implement a plan to divest within five years from direct ownership of public equities and corporate bonds of the world's leading 200 fossil fuel companies as identified by the Carbon Underground, and be it further

Resolved, That, given the proven dangers to the environment and all life on earth fur to from the burning of fossil fuels, and given fossil fuel companies' business plans to extract and use all fossil fuel reserves in the ground, the 78th General Convention urges all dioceses and parishes of the Episcopal Church and the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes to engage the topic of divestment from fossil fuels and reinvestment in clean energy within the coming year.

Bishop Robinson moved to amend the resolution.

Proposed Amendment:

Delete "Episcopal Church Pension Fund" from second and third resolves.

The question was called.

Motion carried

Debate terminated

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment.

Motion carried

Amendment adopted

Bishop Matthews moved to amend the resolution.

Proposed Amendment:

Remove any reference to specific funds and call upon "this Church".

The question was called.

Motion carried

Debate terminated

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment.

Motion defeated

Amendment defeated

The Rt. Rev. William Stokes, Bishop of New Jersey, moved to amend the resolution.

Proposed Amendment:

Change "calls" to "urges" in all resolves. In the second and third resolves change "calls upon the Investment Committee of the Executive Council, the Episcopal Church Pension Fund, the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund, and the Episcopal Church Foundation" to "calls upon all entities affiliated with the Episcopal Church".

The question was called.

Motion defeated

Amendment defeated

The question was called.

Motion carried

Debate terminated

A vote was taken on Resolution C045.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #86)