One of the world's wealthiest religious institutions, the Church of England, says it has divested about $18 million in investments in thermal coal tar sands companies to promote a transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Church Commissioners, which manages the church's investment portfolio, announced this week it would adopt the new climate change policy recommended by the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG).
Under the policy, no direct investments will be made in companies where over 10 per cent of revenue is derived from thermal coal extraction or oil production from tar sands.
In addition, the church's three national investing bodies said it would increase their low-carbon investments.
Deputy chair of the EIAG, Richard Burridge, said the church had a moral responsibility to speak and act on both environmental stewardship and justice for the world's poor who were vulnerable to climate change.
"This responsibility encompasses not only the church's own work to reduce our own carbon footprint, but also how the church's money is invested and how we engage with companies on this vital issue," he said.
The Church of England is followed by 80 million Anglicans worldwide and holds total investments worth about $13 billion which are used to pay clergy pensions and fund the church's work.
While some is invested in funds, the church also has direct investments of more than $19 million in Royal Shell, BP Plc, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
The Church of England announced last December that it was in the process of filing shareholder resolutions on climate change at BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
The church previously led a shareholder push to urge oil and gas giant BP to publish regular updates on how the company's strategies were affecting climate change, making it one of the first global oil companies to disclose such details.
Director of investments at the Church Commissioners, Tom Joy, said the church would engage with companies and policy makers ahead of the UN climate change conference in Paris at the end of the year.
"We need governments meeting in Paris at the end of this year to agree long-term global emissions targets with a clear pathway to a low carbon future," he said.
The announcement comes ahead of Pope Francis' release of an encyclical setting out Roman Catholic doctrine on environmental issues, which is expected to make waves on the global warming debate.
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