PROVIDENCE � Delegates to the 53rd annual General Assembly of Unitarian Universalist Association voted overwhelmingly Saturday to divest from major producers and processors of fossil fuels, and pursue...

PROVIDENCE � Delegates to the 53rd annual General Assembly of Unitarian Universalist Association voted overwhelmingly Saturday to divest from major producers and processors of fossil fuels, and pursue investment in clean-energy technologies, said spokeswoman Rachel Walden.

Of the 2,000 delegates, �it was a very small portion who voted �No� on the business resolution,� Walden said. The vote was held at the Dunkin� Donuts Center after a half-hour discussion.

Ed Horch, of Somerville, N.J., was among those voting to divest.

�This is one tactic in an overall strategy in working against overdependence on fossil fuels,� Horch said. �It�s not going to cause ExxonMobil to go broke, but that�s not what it�s intended to do.�

Horch noted, �We�re not selling all of our shares ... By keeping a few shares, we can send representatives to the annual shareholders� meetings,� and engage in shareholder activism.

Allan Shapiro, of North Andover, Mass., also voted in favor of divestment. �I think it makes a statement, not so much as an economic issue, but as a philosophical issue,� he said.

About 2.9 percent of the UUA�s $175-million endowment is invested in Carbon Tracker 200 companies, according to information Walden forwarded from the UUA treasurer.

The fossil fuels divestment vote stems from a resolution brought by the group, Unitarian Universalists for Fossil Fuel Divestment and Sustainable Reinvestment, Walden said. The UUA �has a long history of shareholder activism on a variety of issues, including environmental justice.�

The investment committee and treasurer will begin reviewing the holdings. The committee will determine �how many shares we need to retain to engage in shareholder activism: whatever minimum we have to hold, we would divest to that amount,� Walden added.