Philadelphia Quakers move towards disinvestment
$2 million has been disinvested from fossil fuels
The Eco-Justice Working Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has announced that more than $2 million of the group’s assets have been disinvested from fossil fuels.
The group has moved its assets to a new Quaker Green Fund offered by Friends Fiduciary Corporation. The green fund focuses on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, efficient transport, energy and water conservation and cleantech.
A number of Philadelphia Meetings have already disinvested, including those at Central Philadelphia, Lansdowne and Westtown. They hope to persuade Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to follow suit. Philadelphia is the largest Yearly Meeting in the United States, representing 103 Meetings.
‘By disinvesting and reinvesting, we communicate the urgency of our concern for protecting a stable climate future for the commonwealth of life,’ said Paula Kline, a member of the Eco-Justice Working Group. ‘We want to invite meaningful conversation about the transition to clean energy.’
The Philadelphia group’s decision is the latest in a string of announcements from Quakers, and other church groups, of their intentions to disinvest from fossil fuels.
Last month Quakers in Aotearoa New Zealand agreed to withdraw their funds from the four main Australian-owned banks because of their investment in fossil fuels.
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