The Church of England has yielded to pressure from green groups by selling £12 million of shares in coal and tar sand companies but is keeping its investments in oil and gas.
The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board said they would no longer make “direct investments” in companies deriving more than 10 per cent of their revenues from extracting thermal coal or oil from tar sands. These fuels produce higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil or gas.
The church, which has investments worth more than £9 billion, will keep its stakes in fossil fuel companies, including BP, Shell and other companies which focus on oil and gas.