The Diocese of Middlesbrough has announced the commitment to divest from fossil fuels.

In his pontifical message to government negotiators meeting in Madrid at COP25 last month, Pope Francis similarly declared that the climate emergency is a “challenge to civilisation” needing “a clear, far-sighted and strong political will, set on pursuing a new course that aims at refocusing financial and economic investments toward those areas that truly safeguard the conditions of a life worthy of humanity on a healthy planet for today and tomorrow.”