In guidance sent to bishops, dioceses and church leadership teams, the Church’s environmental working group outlines what is needed to tackle the problem, from heating buildings to protecting wildlife in churchyards.
And in the future, local churches would need to be ready provide sanctuary in extreme weather events and support climate refugees from within and outside of the UK as the impacts of global warming accelerate.
The environmental working group is planning to bring a motion to the General Synod in 2020 proposing revised carbon targets for the Church that would see it aim for net zero emissions by 2050 – and to move faster where this is possible.
In its guidance the working group, which is chaired by the Bishop of Salisbury, said a programme of action was needed to change heating from oil and gas and focus more on the comfort of church users rather than always aiming to heat the whole space.
The programme would also focus on installing energy efficient lighting, switching to renewable energy, cutting heat loss, and for church properties, where appropriate, to generate their own electricity from renewables.
A key first step will be to measure the carbon footprint across all parts of the Church, where it is not done already, including churches, housing, schools, farming, forestry, investment portfolios, and offices, the guidance said.
The Church of England…
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