04 July 2011
Methodists commit to carbon reduction pledge
The Methodist Conference agreed that failure to acknowledge the
urgent need for radical cuts in greenhouse gas emissions was
"morally irresponsible" in a statement adopted by the Church
today.
The statement has been two years in the making. In 2009 a report
entitled "Hope in God's Future" addressed the need to look at
climate change within a theological context. Over the past year,
British Methodists have been asked about their views on climate
change in a Church-wide consultation. Now that the statement has
been adopted, it will stand as the official view of the Church and
be referred to by key committees, such as the Faith and Order
Committee, when deciding on related areas of doctrine.
Dr Richard Vautrey, former Vice President of the Methodist Church,
said: "The scientific analyses of climate change and the role of
human greenhouse gas emissions are well-grounded. It is now morally
irresponsible to fail to acknowledge and address the urgent need
for radical cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent
intolerable damage to human populations and mass extinctions of
many plant and animal species."
This week the Church launched a webpage www.methodist.org.uk/co2
on how to reduce the carbon footprint of small, medium and large
churches. The guidance will help to cut the Methodist Church's
carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 in line with Government
targets. A report to the Methodist Conference last year revealed
that the Methodist Church in Britain has a carbon footprint of
around 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum for approximately 8,000 of
its buildings.
The Joint Public Issues Team for the Methodist Church, the United
Reformed Church and the Baptist Union is lobbying the government on
its climate change policy and has called for emissions from
international aviation and shipping to be taken into account in
international targets. Churches are also encouraged to start up
eco-congregations: an environmental programme for local churches in
Britain and Ireland. Last week, Nailsea Methodist Church was
officially named as an Eco-Congregation after four years of working
towards a greener church.