Climate Justice Working Group

Mission Statement

The Climate Justice Working group encourages and supports direct action to reduce global warming and other harmful human effects on the environment and to restore Earth's ecosystems for the good of all life. By providing resources that will be informative, interactive, action-oriented, and rooted in Quaker witness and testimonies, we hope to inspire action both within and outside the New York Yearly Meeting community.

Contents

• Mission Statement
• Action Statement
• Financial Action (Divest funds from fossil fuels, reinvest in green technologies)
  • Minute from NYYM Fall Sessions 2019
  • Letter (partial) from New York Quarterly Meeting to Friends Fiduciary Corporation (2020)
• Share Information (Establish a web page for sharing information and resources for reducing carbon emissions)
  • Created CJWG web page on nyym.org (2020-04)
• Support Action (Support individuals, monthly, quarterly, and regional meetings in initiating and completing projects that reduce carbon emissions)
  • Submit a project, action, or event
  • View submitted projects, actions, or events
• About Climate Justice Working Group
  • Contacts/Members

Action Statement

We advocate for right relationship with the environment and each other. We share information to help New York Yearly Meeting members, monthly meetings, committees, and any Quaker or non Quaker related institutions, mobilize resources for the benefit of the planet. We support safe, resilient communities for all people, especially those most impacted by environmental degradation. We encourage divestment from fossil fuels and investment in green technologies.

Financial Action (Divest funds from fossil fuels, reinvest in green technologies)

After coming together, the Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG) created a minute that inspired New York Yearly Meeting to begin divesting all of it's funds from fossil fuels.  CJWG also brought a minute to NYYM asking the body to encourage Friends Fiduciary Corporation (FFC) to remove all of it's funds from fossil fuels and to reinvest in technologies that benefit the environment. NYYM took up the minute and sent a letter in November of 2019 to FFC detailing intentions to move NYYM funds to Green Fund and asking that FFC divest all funds from fossil fuels and reinvest in green technologies.

CJWG is currently coordinating with other groups within and outside NYYM to consult with Friends Fiduciary Corporation about divesting all FFC funds from fossil fuels and moving more moneys to investments that will leverage a positive change for renewable and sustainable technologies.

CJWG Minute from NYYM Fall Sessions 2019

Minute 2019-11-21 (as approved by NYYM)

New York Yearly Meeting thanks Friends Fiduciary Corporation for its leadership in investing Quaker monies in ways consistent with Quaker beliefs and testimonies. We are grateful for Friends Fiduciary Corporation's track record of socially responsible investing and feel that the Quaker Green Fund is a wonderful addition to the options that Friends Fiduciary Corporation offers. New York Yearly Meeting intends to begin moving New York Yearly Meeting's holdings into the Quaker Green Fund. We appreciate the environmentally conscious investing that Friends Fiduciary Corporation has already undertaken. However, because global climate disruption is happening even faster than predicted, and because its impacts are being felt most deeply by people in marginalized and vulnerable communities, we are called to do more and to act swiftly. The moral imperative to protect our planet is central to our witness as Quakers. We can no longer stay invested in technologies that are on course to end life as we know it on Earth.

New York Yearly Meeting requests that Friends Fiduciary Corporation divest with good speed from all companies on the Carbon Underground 200 list, compiled and maintained by Fossil Free Indexes, and that they also divest all holdings from companies involved in fossil fuel development and production. We also ask Friends Fiduciary Corporation to redirect its investments into green technologies and solutions in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This requires investing with asset managers who have expertise in climate-responsive investing in all seven sectors of solutions promoted by Project Drawdown. We hope that Friends Fiduciary Corporation will join us in expanding our efforts regarding a concern of vital importance to Quakers and indeed all people and living beings on Earth.

(The body embraced the suggestion of the Witness Coordinating Committee and directed the Clerk and General Secretary to write a letter to Friends Fiduciary Corporation sharing the concerns of New York Yearly Meeting as expressed in this Minute. Letter from Clerk and General Secretary was sent November 11, 2019.)

Supplementary Material (included with minute and letter to Friends Fiduciary Corporation):

Fossil Free Indexes LLC is a company that “delivers research, consulting and investment solutions to investors concerned about climate and environmental risk.” Their list of the Carbon Underground 200™serves as a negative screen for avoiding investing in companies holding the largest underground reserves of coal, oil and natural gas. Friends Fiduciary Corporation's Quaker Growth and Income Fund has stocks in at least 5 of these firms. https://fossilfreefunds.org/carbon-underground-200

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) "are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030." https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals

• GOAL 1: No Poverty
• GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
• GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
• GOAL 4: Quality Education
• GOAL 5: Gender Equality
• GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
• GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• GOAL 13: Climate Action
• GOAL 14: Life Below Water
• GOAL 15: Life on Land
• GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
• GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Project Drawdown is a science and engineering-based global collaboration which promotes 80 currently feasible ways to slow and then reverse global warming by reducing the levels of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. However we can only again stabilize our climate if sufficient changes are made in all seven sectors (listed from most to least important): Women & Girls; Transport; Materials; Land Use; Food; Electricity; and Buildings & Cities. https://www.drawdown.org

The Quaker Institute for the Future has produced two books that provide a framework for the discerning economic decisions in terms of both ethical and ecological values. (download from https://www.quakerinstitute.org)

Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy by Peter Brown, Geoffrey Garver, et al, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009.

Toward Right Relationship with Finance: Debt, Interest, Growth, and Security by Pamela Haines et al, 2016.

Letter (partial) from New York Quarterly Meeting to Friends Fiduciary Corporation (2020)

New York Quarterly Meeting thanks Friends Fiduciary Corporation for its leadership in investing Quaker monies in ways consistent with Quaker beliefs and testimonies. We are grateful for Friends Fiduciary Corporation's track record of socially responsible investing and feel that the Quaker Green Fund is a wonderful addition to the options that Friends Fiduciary Corporation offers. New York Quarterly Meeting has begun moving New York Quarterly Meeting's holdings into the Quaker Green Fund but we note because of its smaller size, lower diversification in underlying asset managers, and its lower payout ratio those funds invested in the Green Fund receive a structurally disadvantaged treatment relative to the Quaker Growth and Income Fund.

We appreciate the environmentally conscious investing that Friends Fiduciary Corporation has already undertaken. However, because global climate disruption is happening even faster than predicted, and because its impacts are being felt most deeply by people in less developed countries, Friends’ testimonies call us to do more and to act swiftly. The moral imperative to protect our planet is central to our witness as Quakers. We can no longer stay invested in technologies that are on course to end life as we know it on Earth.

New York Quarterly Meeting requests that Friends Fiduciary Corporation divest the Quaker Growth and Income Fund with good speed from all companies on the Carbon Underground 200 (www.fossifreefunds.org) list, compiled and maintained by Fossil Free Indexes (www.fossilfreeindexes.com), and that they also divest all holdings from companies involved in fossil fuel development and production. We also ask Friends Fiduciary Corporation to redirect at least an amount equal to that divested from fossil fuels to be re-invested into green technologies and solutions in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org). This requires investing with asset managers who have expertise in climate-responsive investing in all seven sectors of solutions promoted by Project Drawdown (www.drawdown.org). We hope that Friends Fiduciary Corporation will join us in expanding our efforts regarding a concern of vital importance to Quakers and indeed all people and living beings on Earth.

Share Information (Establish a web page for sharing information and resources for reducing carbon emissions)

Created CJWG web page on nyym.org (2020-04)

CJWG created a web page on the NYYM website to share environmental resources that are informative, interactive, action-oriented, and rooted in Quaker witness and testimonies.

Support Action (Individuals, monthly, quarterly, and regional meetings in initiating and completing projects that reduce carbon emissions)

We are gathering and sharing information on completed or in-progress (from idea to implementation!) projects and efforts in built environment, finance, etc.

Submit a project

Please share Climate Justice activities.

View submitted projects

We intend to share submitted projects here!

About Climate Justice Working Group

Contact the Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG):

Please reach out to us via e-mail: climate-justice@nyym.org

Keep up to date on Facebook:

Whether or not you have a Facebook account, we encourage you to keep up on information and events we post on our NYYM CJWG Facebook Page.

Clerks of Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG):

CJWG Members: