Global Catholic Climate Movement makes headways to environmental protection.

By; Jjunju Francis

16^th Nov. 2020

Today, 47 faith institutions announce their divestment from fossil fuels that are dangerous to the environment according to the statement from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in Rome.

This makes it the largest-ever joint announcement of divestment among religious leaders. These include 42 Catholic institutions plus Protestant, and Jewish institutions.

In Kenya where the Global Catholic Climate Movement has its offices, four religious congregations have announced their commitment while on the African level, the Archdiocesan Commission on Justice and Peace in Luanda (Angola), Uganda and Lesotho join today’s announcement.

Today’s commitment to fossil fuel divestment is the first that has been made after the Vatican’s first-ever operational guidance on the environment was issued. The guidelines, which were jointly issued by all dicasteries of the Vatican, suggested that Catholics avoid investing in companies that “harm human or social ecology through the use of fossil fuels.

Fr. Augusto Zampini-Davies, adjunct secretary of the Vatican’s social-environmental ministry, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, says “they celebrate that Catholic institutions around the world are implementing the Vatican’s guidelines on divestment from fossil fuels with at least 400 faith institutions have already divested from fossil fuels.