CHURCH OF ENGLAND TACKLES ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT
Speaking at Lambeth Palace at an event to mark the third anniversary of the Church of England's environmental campaign, the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres urged representatives from all dioceses to go one step further in cutting their carbon, reminding them that caring for the planet is a Christian imperative for the sake of future generations.
He said that by putting its own house in order the Church could
then take an even stronger lead in campaigning for change; at a
local level in parishes and in the international arena in the
run-up to climate change talks at Copenhagen in December.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of
Energy and Climate Change, Joan Ruddock, backed the bishop's call
at Lambeth Palace, saying: 'The Church of England and other faith
communities are to be commended for taking the lead in the fight
against climate change, both through reducing their own emissions
and highlighting the issue with their parishioners. Today's event
is another significant step, helping to build public support for a
global deal on climate change in Copenhagen.'
Bishop Chartres who chairs the 'Shrinking the Footprint'
campaign added: 'Protecting the most vulnerable from the damaging
effects of climate change is a moral imperative for all of those
that profess to love their neighbour. Responding to climate change
requires immediate action and those in positions of spiritual and
moral leadership have a vital part to play.'
He continued: 'In the two years since the launch of the
Shrinking the Footprint campaign, the Church of England has taken
its own steps towards reducing its carbon footprint. The two-year
anniversary of the campaign provides us with an opportunity to
celebrate the measures taken in Dioceses across the country, to
reflect on the further steps that the Church needs to take to
become fully carbon neutral and to call on our political leaders to
do more to safeguard the future of the planet.'
New toolkits and resources with energy saving tips and guidance
for the Church of England's churches, cathedrals, schools and
clergy homes are now available at www.shrinkingthefootprint.org/.
These resources are part of the Church of England's Carbon
Management Programme (CMP), undertaken by AECOM (formerly Faber
Maunsell) on behalf of the Carbon Trust, which looked at the
institutional footprint of the Church estimated to be around
one-third-of-a-million tonnes.
The CMP report shows that by ensuring energy is used efficiently
in cathedrals and church buildings by updating lighting and
heating with more efficient alternatives, adjusting time switches,
checking thermostats, installing insulation and stopping draughts,
the Church of England could reduce this footprint by as much as 12
percent.
Many carbon saving initiatives are already going on across the
country and it is estimated that the Church's footprint when next
calculated will be considerably less. London Diocese is carrying
out a range of projects including area environmental audits on
energy, carbon, water and waste; aiming at a minimum 20.12 percent
reduction by 2012.
Shrinking the Footprint is now being extended to include water
and biodiversity. Representatives of the Environment Agency,
Natural England and CIWEM addressed these new areas at the
conference.
CIWEM President, Alastair Moseley, commended Shrinking the
Footprint saying it was vital, 'for faith leaders to embrace and
extol environmentalism, both for the sake of protecting nature and
humankind and of furthering social justice.'
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