Our Bishops are leading the diocese in the whole area of Climate Change.

About eighteen months ago the Bristol Diocesan Synod declared a Climate Emergency pledging that the diocese would become Carbon Neutral by 2030. Totally impossible?

Amazingly, looking now at the nation rather than the church, The Times reports that Britain is already halfway to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Greenhouse gases have fallen by 51% against the government’s baseline for measuring progress towards net zero. Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 13% last year to the lowest level for 150 years.

Boris Johnson announced his ambition to reach global net zero within three decades calling on countries to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies and establish a $100 billion a year programme to help poor countries decarbonise.

The UK released 306 million tonnes of carbon dioxide last year. Apart from 1926 when emissions fell because of the general strike, it was the lowest amount since 1879 when Disraeli was prime minister and Britain was at war with the Zulus. Lockdown of course played a significant role in that. However, the biggest factor in the encouraging long term decline has been the closure of coal fired power stations.

The Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change said that cutting UK emissions in half since 1990 was a story we should celebrate.

David will be helping lead our thinking and response as a church to this issue as we get to grips with it later in the year. It would be great to be able to produce similar statistics for our church at future APCMs.

But it is not all about the church building. There is plenty to do in our homes. This issue is not just about our grand-children. It is about what is happening to people affected by climate change this very day.