A liberal Christian group is targeting the fossil fuel industry, encouraging members fight “climate disinformation” and sue financial institutions over their involvement in the so-called climate crisis.
The World Council of Churches, an group of over 352 churches around the world, published a handbook in March encouraging strategic lawsuits against financial institutions it accuses of fueling climate changes. In the handbook, the group — which soft-pedals Christian teachings on abortion and sexuality — argues that Christians should be actively involved in radical climate activism.
“As we analyse the current climate crisis, it becomes increasingly clear that advocacy alone is insufficient,” Julio Murray, an Anglican bishop from Panama, writes.
“Despite decades of effort, CO2 emissions continue to rise dramatically, mainly driven by the relentless expansion of fossil fuel industries. The urgency of this moment demands that we engage with the law not merely as a tool but as a moral imperative to safeguard human lives and uphold justice.”
The promotion of activist lawsuits comes as many financial institutions have started to back away from climate policies. Groups pushing the decarbonization of the economy have seen an exodus of major asset managers from their ranks. This has been prompted by action from Republican lawmakers, who have pushed for answers on how these companies have colluded to target the coal and gas industries.
Called “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable,” the handbook retails for $20 – a digital version can be viewed or downloaded from the WCC website free of charge.
It lists potential targets of litigation as commercial and investment banks, asset managers and pension funds, insurers, credit ratings agencies, central banks, financial regulators, private equity and venture capital, large institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds.
The guide recommends using children as the face of the lawsuits.
The goal of the lawsuits, according to the handbook, would be “disrupting a vast number of fossil fuel firms.”
“Strategic climate litigation targeting financial actors can reduce finance flows to fossil fuel companies, leading to a reduction in fossil fuel extraction and consumption and declining GHG emissions,” the handbook says. “Climate litigation that holds financial actors accountable can be a circuit breaker, securing binding outcomes not currently achieved by voluntary emission reduction initiatives.”
WCC Handbook.
WCC handbook.
“Financial institutions play a central role in either enabling or mitigating climate change due to their substantial investments in and power over fossil fuel projects,” the handbook says. “Legal accountability for ‘financed emissions’ could reduce fossil fuel investments and promote cleaner energy alternatives.”
The World Council of Churches previously urged the International Criminal Court “to consider legal reforms that address the current impunity surrounding climate disinformation.” The handbook addresses the court directly, saying there is a “need to tackle climate disinformation and its direct link to the ongoing financing of fossil fuels.”
Jason Isaac, the CEO of the American Energy Institute, told The Daily Wire that the handbook shows radical climate activists using Christianity for political purposes.
“It’s tragic to see faith hijacked by climate extremists,” he said. “This handbook encourages weaponizing the legal system against banks that are simply supporting the energy sources that power modern life and alleviate poverty. Christians should be stewards of truth — not tools for a fringe agenda that threatens human flourishing.”
Conservatives criticizes the council during Holy Week for posting an article claiming that “climate justice” is a “moral imperative for churches.”
While the Christian group use Bible verses to defend many of its positions on “climate justice,” the organization takes a much less definitive tact on issues of unborn life and biblical views of sexuality. For example, a resource from the World Council of Churches on “Love, Justice, and Reproductive Health,” seems to endorse abortion when it wrote “almost one-third of maternal deaths could be averted if all women wishing to avoid pregnancy could access modern methods of contraception, safe abortions, and safe post-abortion care.”
Another resource on sexuality says that the United Church of Canada’s “commitment to inclusion” requires the acceptance of ministers and clergy who are “gay, lesbians, or transgendered persons.”
The World Council of Christian Churches if funded largely by its members, but also receives significant funding from government sources. The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, contributed over $238,000 to the organization. It also took $106,186 from the German Federal Foreign Office and $4,259 from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, according to its most recent financial report.
