Diocesan Environment Group Presentation to Diocesan Synod 6 th November 2010

Environmental and Climate Change Issues

Church of England 5 Marks of Mission To proclaim, the good news of the kingdom To teach, baptise and nurture new believers To respond, to human need by loving service To seek, to transform the unjust structures of society To strive, to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

Shrinking the Footprint Campaign “For the church of the 21 st Century, good ecology is not an optional extra but a matter of justice. It is therefore central to what it means to be Christian”. Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

“Few would now contest that the church has a responsibility in living far more lightly on the earth, and in working for ‘sustainable development’ – human flourishing based on justice and fairness, on responsible use of the world’s resources, and respect for the richness of creation”. The Rt. Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London 2009 – Church and Earth 2009 – 2016

Environment action in the diocese May 2006 and May 2007 – Shrinking the footprint checklist sent to every parish 2008/2009 – Electricity usage monitors lent to parishes Environment group Summer school sessions on environment Diocesan website Energy saving light bulbs given out at 2009 Clergy Conference

Environmental impacts? Being environmentally green is not straightforward Sometime what seems green in some respects can have other concerns Sometimes we have to weigh the benefits against the concerns

Over to you! Two examples What are the issues? What are the questions we need to ask? What are the benefits and concerns?

Household Pets

Green Beans from Kenya

Over to you Continued Pick a picture from the sheet in your pack Discuss with a neighbour the issues, questions and benefits/concerns Each take a different standpoint - one for, one against Feedback

Redefining normality

After a while, new ways of doing things become normal – Think how our use of disposable carrier bags has decreased – It used to be an effort to remember to ‘take old bags shopping’, now that is just normal for most people

Fairtrade Back in the 1980s there was Campaign Coffee – but this was far from mainstream Café Direct and Maya Gold Chocolate were the first Fairtrade products in the UK, starting in 1994 Now there are over 3,000 fairly traded product lines available How many of us now automatically buy fairly traded goods where available?

The urgency of the task We don’t actually have very long to make the changes to achieve the necessary 80% reduction in our carbon emissions The New Economics Foundation has calculated that we had a window of 100 months from August 2008 during which we stood a chance of preventing catastrophic climate change We are now down to 73 months, just over 6 years

The BIG problem 6 years is a long time in democratic politics – most politicians face re-election during that period 6 years is a short time in terms of United Nations negotiations – they govern by consensus

What then??? There is no ‘magic’ solution to the problem with some sort of technological fix We need to turn to someone much more important in our lives to make the changes needed

Each of us is the most influential person in the choices we make ‘Be the change you want to see’ Gandhi We need to be informed and aware of the situation and the consequences of our choices The rise of Fairtrade demonstrates that markets do respond to demand, so we can make a difference

What next? How do we move forward from here? There are plenty of challenges that can be considered. One size does not fit all, different people have different choices available to them Some are changes that can be made and then essentially forgotten about Some require ongoing effort and imagination

‘One hit changes’ Change to a green electricity supplier – Individual households – Churches – could a good rate be negotiated for a large number of parishes signing up? We could ask Insulation in our buildings, both homes and church premises can be both kind to the planet and to our pockets

Repeating challenges Recognising that the resources of the earth are precious and using them mindfully Reducing energy usage – turning off the lights, using the car less Recycling as much as possible Try eating locally produced food Thinking about the implications of day to day choices

Guidelines and roadmaps There are various ‘roadmaps’ that are useful to guide a church through the process of embracing environmental issues These give structure and support in approaching what can be a difficult subject There are different emphases, so there should be something for every parish

Some links and resources A Rocha Christian Ecology Linkwww.christian-ecology.org.uk Creed and Creationwww.london.gov.uk/gla/publications Eco Congregation Challenges (so far) of gaining the Eco-congregation award at St Andrew's, Cobham (winter 2010)winter 2010 Parish Pumpswww.conservationfoundation.co.uk Earth Resourceswww.earthresources.org.uk Tearfundwww.tearfund.org Norwich Diocesewww.norwich.anglican.org/environment Quaker Environment Resourceswww.quakergreenaction.org.uk Alliance of Religions and Conservation

A Rocha Eco-Congregation Scheme A modular approach developed with the CofE and recommended by the Diocese, leading to the Eco- Congregation award Starts by taking stock of the situation in an individual congregation and developing an action plan The remaining 11 modules are grouped under ‘Spiritual’, ‘Practical’ and ‘Mission’

Eco-Diocese Coming soon – the Eco-Diocese award! Could Guildford achieve this?

What willYOU do?