The Big Shift — What’s next?
Christian Aid’s campaigner Luke Harman offers a sneak peak of the next stages in our climate change campaign
What’s happened so far?
The Big Shift campaign, launched just over a year ago, has been a key way we’ve been able join in with God’s work of renewing and liberating creation.
Carbon pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is in turn fuelling climate change, threatening the lives of our sisters and brothers around the world and putting all of our futures at risk.
But together we’ve called on decision makers to stop financing the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, a major step forward.
You may well have played a part in securing 50,000 signatures in October 2015 for a petition calling on the UK Government to phase out coal. We sent these to the government who announced they will phase out the use of coal by 2050. A terrific announcement ahead of last years’ UN climate talks in Paris.
Maybe you were part of the Big Church Switch, which has enabled hundreds of churches across the UK to sign up to switch to renewable energy suppliers. Each church or household willing to move their own money out of fossil fuels has shown policy makers the kind of decisive, practical actions we should be taking to lessen our own impacts on the climate.
Now we want to take the campaign to the four biggest UK high street banks.
The biggest banks in the UK, the ones that most of us rely upon to look after our money, are not using that money (trillions of pounds by the way) to look after our earth, our shared home.
Our money could be powering the rise of the clean energy that we all need. But instead the UK’s biggest high street banks are continuing to finance the extraction and burning of fossil fuels.
Our research shows that the people managing our money are still much more heavily invested in fossil fuel companies than in renewable energy companies.
And what’s really worrying is the lack of any clear plan or commitment from the banks as to how to change this current balance and scale up investments in renewable energy.
Right now we’re putting the final touches to our campaign plans. Keep an eye on your inbox for details of how you can get involved next month!
