Caring for the environment and working towards Net Zero Carbon - Why are we doing this?
At the heart of Christian discipleship lies a deep theological understanding that our relationship with God, with each other, and with creation is interconnected.
Caring for creation is therefore an act of honouring these relationships:
God - By caring for Creation we honour the God who loved creation into being and made human beings in his own image to care for it.
People - When we recognise the Earth as a shared home, our actions reflect this. Climate change and environmental degradation are having a negative impact on people in every part of the world, especially those who are living in poverty and vulnerable situations. Accordingly, we think about the impact of our choices on the well-being of others and try to honour them through our actions.
Creation - Acknowledging creation as a divine masterpiece that reflects God’s handiwork, we should do whatever we can to pass on this gift to future generations. We consider its value and become stewards of this precious gift.
How are we responding in the Diocese of Guildford?
We have two main strands to our work:
Net Zero Carbon
Supporting our churches, schools, vicarages and diocesan office to reduce their emissions as far as possible.
Eco Church and sustainability
Supporting all our churches to embed sustainability into their parish life, through worship, lifestyles, energy reduction, land management, campaigning and wider engagement.
Why should we care for creation?
“Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds.”
- Psalm 148:7-10
If trees, ocean creatures and lightning storms are praising God for Creation, what are humans doing?
There has been a 69% decline in global wildlife populations since 1970, and 70% of ancient woodlands in this country have gone. A vanishingly small 3% of UK wildflower meadows are left.
Enamoured of our own creativity, we have been squandering God’s gift of the natural world with relentless and astonishing speed in a single generation. And, with climate chaos firmly taking hold of the planet, we are making our own future on Earth less and less certain.
But we are people of faith, and therefore guardians of Hope.
By acting together in a united way, trusting in God’s love - by prioritising action - we can become leaders in turning this devastation around, and move one step closer to the Kingdom in the process.
Why are we aiming for Net Zero Carbon (NZC)?
“This [NZC] programme of work is not something to be added to mission, evangelism and worship. It is part of our mission, evangelism and worship because Christian discipleship is lived out in creation care….. Seeking to heal our breaking planet, and tread more gently on it, is not a luxury in the ministry of the Church; it is an imperative for the mission of the Church. ”
- Bishop Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich and Church of England Lead Bishop for the Environment
The National Church of England General Synod voted in February 2020 for the whole of the Church of England to achieve NZC by 2030. This ambitious target recognises that the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation and a fundamental injustice (as those people who are contributing least to the cause of climate change are those who tend the suffer the greatest from its impacts).