EXECUTIVES from energy companies met the Archbishop of
Canterbury at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, two months after he
called on such firms to be "conscious of their social obligations",
given the "severe" impact of energy price rises.
A statement from Lambeth Palace said that the senior
representatives met to talk about "their perspectives on social
responsibility around the energy-supply sector". This was "one of a
number of private meetings hosted by Archbishop Justin in order to
draw on the experience of people from different areas of national
life".
Utility Week reported on Tuesday that the chief
executives of British Gas, EDF Energy, Eon, and Npower were
expected to attend the meet-ing.
A spokesman from Npower told the publication: "We would always
want to try and engage with the issue [of fuel poverty]. We want to
talk about that with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with any
important stakeholder who has got a stake in these things. While
energy is not the usual territory for religious leaders, it is
important from a poverty point of view, which is certainly their
territory, so it is right to talk."
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday in October,
after a British Gas price rise (Press, 25 October), Archbishop
Welby said: "The impact on people, particularly on low incomes, is
going to be really severe in this, and the companies have to
justify fully what they are doing."
Relationships between charities and energy firms came under
scrutiny this week. It was alleged in The
Independent on Tuesday that Save the Children had
"repeatedly quashed press releases criticising British Gas price
rises to avoid damaging its corporate partnership". The charity
refuted the allegations as "categorically untrue".
EIAG survey criticised
THE Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) of the
Church of England was denounced this week as "biased and
ill-informed when it comes to fossil fuel
disinvestment", writes Madeleine Davies.
On Tuesday, Operation Noah, a an ecumenical environment
charity that is campaigning for disinvestment, criticised a survey
produced by EIAG. EIAG had sought to assess views on a change in
investment policy in the light of concerns about climate change,
but Operation Noah says that the survey contains "both leading
questions and false choices".
After asking whether the Church should disinvest from
fossil fuels, EIAG asks whether this should be done even if it
would "leave them unable to pay clergy pensions at agreed rates and
unable to generate financial support for the Church at the levels
previously enjoyed".
Respondents to the survey are also asked whether they
agree with a number of statements, including: "I think the national
investing bodies should be prophetic on climate change, whatever
the financial consequences."
Isabel Carter, who chairs the charity, said: "This
survey seems intended to exclude disinvestment from fossil fuels as
an option by suggesting it would be too difficult both financially
and morally. This is both unfair and untrue. . . We welcome a
constructive debate on these issues, but to enable that to happen,
stakeholders need genuine and open opportunities to express their
views, and this survey does not do that."
Edward Mason, secretary of the EIAG, said on Wednesday
that the EIAG "takes climate change extremely seriously, and we are
open to the possibility of recommending excluding some potential
investments if we think this is the most responsible approach, and
if there is broad support from our stakeholders. . .
"Members of Operation Noah were scheduled to attend a
planned meeting on this topic, and we want to engage with them on
this. We are therefore disappointed that they have sought to
portray this exercise in a negative light before we have had the
opportunity to discuss this."
The EIAG survey is available at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/S2NFLNX
Question of the week: Should the Church disinvest from
fossil fuels?