Rosie Venner talked a lot about banks. She thinks it’s important – to God.
“We are called to be good managers, to love our neighbor, to seek peace and to act with justice. This should surely shape our relationship with money and our banking,” she said.
Venner is a British Christian climate change activist who works on the Money Makes Change campaign with the JustMoney Movement, a group which aims to be “the leading organization for Christians and churches” applying the teachings of their faith and biblical calls for justice for the way they manage their money. Which brings him to British banks and the choices they make when investing the money deposited by concerned Christians. negative environmental effects to burn fossil fuels.
Barclays, for example, which is seen by some experts as a key company controlling global financial stability, was the largest financier of Europe’s fossil fuel sector from 2016 to 2021, in some years investing more than £23 billion (around 30 billion US dollars). ) and invest in oil extraction in the Arctic Circle and the Amazon rainforest.
In total, according to the most recent data, banks have pumped more than 733 billion pounds (about 942 billion US dollars) into the fossil fuel industry each year.
Venner would like Christians to withdraw their money from banks this way, because the Lord has shown us what is good and requires us to act righteously (Micah 6:8).
JustMoney partners with a number of Christian climate organizations:Just love, Operation Noah And Turn it green—to encourage Christians to make financial changes during Lent. They call him The big bank change. It is an invitation to believers, during the traditional period of fasting and self-examination, to “align their money with their values by moving from a bank that finances planet-destroying fossil fuels to one that does not.” don’t do it.”
Those who sign The Big Bank Switch commit to moving their bank accounts to a green bank at the end of April. So far, more than 100 Christians have pledged to change banks. Campaigners hope to convince 1,000 people to switch banks by the end of the campaign.
“The very practical action of switching banks allows individuals to influence policy by removing our support for fossil fuel expansion,” said Stefan Spence, who leads the campaign for Just Love UK. “Businesses and governments rely on public support. The clear message sent by The Big Bank Switch campaign will therefore require a response. This is an opportune time, as other campaigns like Making my money count are exerting similar pressure and, in recent years, banks have started to update their sustainability policies.
Historically, Spence said, banks have based investment decisions solely on shareholder returns and concerns about financial risk. The only ethical consideration was legal compliance. As a result, banks sometimes invest their money in ways that their depositors find morally offensive. Money flowing to fossil fuel companies makes it less likely that Britain will effectively reduce its carbon emissions, which for many Christians is an important ethical question.
“As Christians, we understand that the earth and heavens were created to declare the glory of God,” Spence said. “Plants, animals and people on Earth are beautiful and precious. God’s command to steward creation requires us to care for both people and the environment.
He cites verses such as Proverbs 22:16 as clear biblical mandates. The Bible says that God hates it when people try to get ahead in a way that enriches the rich and harms the poor. And those who “sow injustice” will reap disaster (v. 8).
And banking doesn’t have to be that way, according to Spence. Investors could take ethical considerations into account when weighing potential profits against financial risk.
Spence notes that this isn’t the first time Christians have used their finances to create social change. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, anti-apartheid campaigns effectively used boycotts to pressure companies to stop funding projects in South Africa.
Operation Noah, one of the UK’s first Christian climate charities, has also spent a decade encouraging Christians and faith-based organizations to divest from investments that harm the environment.
“This pressure is really working,” said Cameron Conant, communications manager for Operation Noah. “I think sometimes people can get discouraged and feel like campaigning isn’t working, but I can say that as an activist who has been campaigning for several years now, it actually does work.”
Conant has seen many people change their minds, but he also points to the success of moving large institutions. Last year the Church of England divested from all oil and gas investments which were not “genuinely aligned” with agreed targets for limiting carbon emissions.
The strategy, according to Conant, is to help people see that they have influence and to link action to the Christian faith.
“Who finances fossil fuels? Who allows this to happen? It’s our political system and our banks,” Conant said. “We have tried to speak with a unified Christian voice to say that this is an issue that Christians should be united on, that we are called to care for God’s creation and that, just as we should not fund tobacco, guns or gambling, churches and as faith-based organizations we should not fund fossil fuels.
And it may already be working. The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database shows that faith-based organizations are at the forefront of the disinvestment movement. And the big banks are taking notice. Barclays announcement last month, it will stop directly financing new oil and gas projects.
Holly-Anna Petersen said Christian Climate Action, of which she is a member, has also had great success in urging Christian organizations to think more carefully about the impact of their money on climate change. Recently, campaigners held a vigil outside the Church of England Cathedral in Sheffield, urging the Church to change banks.
“For Christian organizations that often run their own campaigns, being the subject of a campaign was a little uncomfortable,” Petersen said. “They also quickly understood the harm their banking was causing and were therefore very receptive. »
Christian Aid was also convinced to change banks.
“It might be more practical to stay at the bank you’ve always worked at. It certainly takes some effort to change. But the climate crisis is financed and fueled by money,” said Ashley Taylor, senior advocacy advisor at Christian Aid. “Doing what we can to help turn off these cash flows will be essential if we are to end the suffering of our brothers and sisters living with the worst climate impacts. »
Taylor encourages others not to underestimate the impact they can have.
“Actions speak louder than words,” she said. “It is easy to declare a climate emergency, to say that we care about the plight of those who are suffering and that we are not on the side of the polluters. But by doing business with those who fund polluters, we risk becoming part of the problem we claim to oppose.
Venner said making that connection is critical. She remembers the moment she first realized the bank she was dealing with was part of the system she was concerned about. Her banking, she realized, was tied to the very issues she was praying about.
“I worked for an international development charity,” she said. “I have met people from all over the world and heard the plight of communities who have been evicted from their land or whose livelihoods have been threatened due to mining, agricultural or oil and gas projects. The funding that enabled these projects came from the banks I passed on the high street – it was a direct connection to the people I cared about, the communities I prayed for.
This Lent, she hopes to help other Christians make the same connection with The Big Bank Switch.
“I think it comes at the right time,” Venner said. “Many Christians are concerned about the climate crisis and are realizing the role of finance in this context. »
