News Archives » Faith Responsible Investing
“Philippines: Mining or Food?” – Report launched in London February 23rd, 2009
“Focus on rice production and not on mining” says new report on mining in the Philippines
L to R: Right Hon Clare Short; Clive Wicks; Robert Goodland; Bishop John Arnold auxiliary in the Catholic Diocese of Westminster; Anglican Bishop Michael Doe General Secretary of Anglicans in World Mission
Church opposition in the Philippines to destructive mining on its islands was supported by Church leaders in Britain on 9 February at the launch of a new report at Westminster titled, Philippines: Mining or Food? It was commissioned by the UK-based Working Group on Mining in the Philippines, which is chaired by Clare Short MP and involves Columban Faith and Justice, the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility, and Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links. The Oblate JPIC Office is preparing a US launch in the coming weeks.
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The Integrity of Creation and the Athabasca Oil Sands February 9th, 2009
Luc Bouchard, Bishop of St. Paul in Alberta, Canada has issued a strong statement calling the extraction of oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada morally wrong and saying it is causing widespread environmental destruction. He links this extraction to the problems of human consumption of resources and wasteful life styles.
The term “tar sands”, known in the US as oil sands, refers to bitumin, a thick oil that is mixed in with sand, clay, and water. Intensive energy is required to process the sands into crude oil. Tar Sands oil is the world’s most harmful type of oil for the atmosphere, emitting high volumes of greenhouse gases during development, contributing to global warming, as well as other pollutants.
Here are some extracts from the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter, with a link to the Letter in its entirety.:
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Belem to Davos: “Another World is Possible” January 28th, 2009
The 2009 World Social Forum (WSF) has started in Belem, Brazil where thousands of people have gathered to discuss, develop strategies and act together against exploitative neo-liberalism and globalization. The WSF, which started in 2001, is an open forum for civil society and non governmental organizations to share experiences, network and formulate advocacy alternatives.
The World Social Forum offers an alternative platform to the policies and proposals of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which starts at the same time (Jan 29 and 30). Here, by invitation only, world political and international business leaders meet to discuss the global economy. The World Economic Forum is organized under the slogan, “Shaping the Post-Crisis World”
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Tell Russell Athletic: Stop Threats of Violence Against Honduran Workers! January 26th, 2009
Russell Athletic, a major supplier of athletic apparel to US colleges and universities, is closing down the second of the only two unionized factories in its supply chain in Honduras. The other unionized factory was shuttered last March.
The closures come after a long struggle by workers to unionize the factories, with support from student and labor activists in the US. Russell is NOT closing any of its non-unionized factories in Honduras. The company is clearly ignoring the code of conduct written into its contracts with universities.
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Europeans Call for a Moral Economic System January 22nd, 2009
Non Governmental Organizations meeting in Paris issued a declaration on the financial crisis that those working with the poor will find very useful. It is a concise and clear call for engagement in the forthcoming debate on the financial system, its purpose and governance.
Paris Declaration (PDF available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian)
European leaders have stressed the need for Europe to play a significant role in the G20 Summit scheduled for April in London. There, the group of leading and emerging countries will hammer out ways of reinforcing the architecture of global regulation. Speaking at a conference in Paris on the future of capitalism, the leaders of the EU’s powerhouse member states agreed on the need to make long-term changes to the old financial order, which Sarkozy said had been “perverted” by an “amoral” form of unbridled finance capitalism.
