The Church of Scotland’s investments will be under discussion at the General Assembly, with a proposal that would urge the Trustees of the Church of Scotland Investors Trust and the Church of Scotland Pension Fund to align their investments with the Church’s position on climate change.

The Church and Society Council’s proposal – to be considered on Tuesday 24 May –-will urge the trustees not to invest in companies which derive more than 15% of their turnover from extraction and/or sale of thermal coal and/or oil extracted from tar sands. The trustees already operate a similar policy regarding tobacco, gambling, arms and alcohol companies.

The independent Investors Trust and the Pension Scheme trustees who invest on behalf of the Church and its associated pension schemes already operate ethical investment policies. These policies are under continual revision.

The Investor’s Trust does not now invest in companies that derive more than 15 percent from their income from thermal coal or tar sands oil.

More than 1,690 people have signed an online petition asking the Church of Scotland not to invest in fossil fuels. The petition, created by National Youth Assembly members makes the ethical case for divestment as part of the effort to keep global warming below 2 percent and avert catastrophic effects on some of the world’s poorest people.

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