Faith-based Investors and the Oil and Gas Sector

By Frank Sherman

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently issued a special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (see FAQ). This was done in anticipation of the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland (COP24) in December.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to cut GHG emissions with a view to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels’. Human-induced warming has already reached about 1°C above pre-industrial levels and the impacts have already been felt. If the current warming rate continues, the world would reach human-induced global warming of 1.5°C around 2040.

Limiting warming to 1.5°C rather than 2°C can help reduce the risks of severe climate disruption. While some cities, regions, countries, businesses and communities are transitioning towards lower GHG emissions, few are consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Meeting this challenge would require a rapid escalation in the current scale and pace of change. This report brings a new urgency and increased demands in our corporate engagements.

Another report (2020: A Clear Vision For Paris Compliant Shareholder Engagement) was also issued by our partners at As You Sow. Given that the global oil and gas companies contribute 50% of GHG emissions, they must become part of the solution if we have any chance of effectively addressing climate change. After decades of engagement, none of the U.S. oil & gas companies has adopted a plan or a target to limit the GHG emissions associated with their products. This report, written before the IPCC 1.5 degree report was issued, concludes that ‘shareholder engagement must focus on one last, fit for purpose demand, seeking 2-degree assessments from companies in year one and 2-degree action plans by 2020….or investors must divest’.

Given the call for urgent action by the IPCC, we no longer have the luxury of time.