Clergy to Vanguard: Stop Funding Fossil Fuels!

“When the fires burn and the seas rise, not in our name, we say, not in our name, we say, not in our name.”

Earlier this week, we found ourselves singing those words as we were led out by security at an investment industry conference attended by over 500 investors and industry leaders. A few minutes earlier, we had stood up to interrupt a speaker on the panel.

“I’m a mother, a minister, and a client,” Amy called out. “I’m desperately worried about my child’s future. Aren’t you worried about yours?”

Then Chelsea spoke. “Vanguard has $300 billion invested in oil, gas, and coal,” she said as security guards approached to force us to leave. “This is reckless and immoral.”

76% of all investors would rather make a dentist visit than invest in an environmentally destructive company.

Vanguard, of course, is the world’s second largest asset manager, after only BlackRock. The company was sponsoring the Pensions & Investments “Defined Contributions West” conference in Southern California, and one of its executives was speaking on the panel.

Vanguard manages over $7 trillion in assets, and its bread and butter is managing retirement accounts. That means that the millions of customers who rely on Vanguard to manage their investments may have no idea that the company is using their money to worsen the climate crisis.

Here’s the thing: 80% of people want to invest responsibly. One study showed that 76% of all investors would rather make a dentist visit than invest in an environmentally destructive company.

Investors don’t want their retirement funds to destroy their children’s or grandchildren’s future. But Vanguard, BlackRock, and other major asset managers have a minuscule amount of their trillions of investments in sustainable funds. Vanguard is ranked worst among all major asset managers for climate commitments. This is not okay.

The science is clear: There can be no further fossil fuel development if we are to keep the global temperature from rising beyond the 1.5°C threshold that scientists agree is the most warming our planet can bear before utter catastrophe.

And beyond the risks to humanity itself, Vanguard is well aware that climate risk is also financial risk. Vanguard’s investments in the fossil fuel industry could ultimately cost its investors in the long run—putting up to $3 trillion in assets at risk if Vanguard does not act to mitigate climate risk.

Disrupting a professional conference in front of hundreds of attendees was not easy. But we have come to believe that the climate crisis is too urgent to wait.

We are people of faith and spirit. Amy’s Unitarian Universalist faith affirms the interdependent web of all creation. Chelsea’s interspiritual background inspires public action that expresses the deepest moral values. Both of our religious backgrounds call us to work for a more just future for all beings.

So, we stood up.

Our spirituality helped us through the process. To prepare, we grounded ourselves in prayer. We remembered all those suffering from climate disasters, both human and non-human. We held close our visions for a world in which all beings and our common home were revered rather than desecrated for profit. We felt clear in heart and spirit that this was the right thing to do. We were together, supported by other colleagues. Without these spiritual practices and community, we couldn’t have done it.

It would be great if we could simply ask Vanguard to do the right thing, and they’d do it. But for years, countless people have called, written letters, asked for meetings, and held protests. Our colleagues at the Earth Quaker Action Team and Vanguard S.O.S. have led campaigns to push Vanguard to improve its practices, to no avail. In fact, Vanguard has moved in the opposite direction, by withdrawing from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.

It is irresponsibly naive to think that polite and rational approaches to this threat are sufficient. As people of faith, we need to summon deeper courage and act. For decades, we’ve pointed to Dr. King and Gandhi as our spiritual heroes. The time has come when we need to draw on the same well of inner strength that made them into giants.

The solutions are clear: Vanguard must decarbonize, massively scale up sustainable investments, adopt a human rights policy, and use its power to hold the worst climate actors accountable.

Vanguard can use its power to give us a chance at a liveable future AND investment returns. But it’s not going to happen until Vanguard experiences a wave of grassroots pressure that forces it to change.

We invite you to act in faith and courage with us by sending a fax to Vanguard. To win, it will take all of us doing all we can, and so we also hope you feel called to do more. Please visit www.GreenFaith.org if you’d like to learn more about how you can take faith-filled action to stop the funding of fossil fuels.