A set of Christian charities has just announced that across the UK, more than 3,500 churches belonging to various groups are switching away from fossil fuels to become wholly renewable.
The announcement follows on form a decision made by several Catholic groups last year to do make the switch to renewables after the Pope released a statement supporting the fight against climate change. The statement, in an encyclical titled Laudato Si, saw Pope Francis express worries about the state of the environment, and particularly about the effect that global warming is having (and will continue to have, without intervention) on the poorer communities in the world.
Three charities – Christian Ai, Tearfund and the Catholic aid agency for England and Wales (CAFOD) – released the figures detailing the number of churches who either have already, or intend to soon, make the switch.
Christian Aid’s CEO, Loretta Minghella, explained that this announcement marks the beginning of a general trend for the Church.
She said: “We need a big shift to renewable energy and a shared commitment to leave the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves in the ground. This action by thousands of churches shows a groundswell of public support for renewables to which governments must respond by doing all they can to shift to a clean energy future.”
Almost 2,000 parishes, as part of 16 separate Catholic dioceses, are already getting their electricity from entirely renewable sources, as part of a partnership with two groups – Churchmarketplace and Interdiocesan Fuel Management.
Additionally, 700 churches belonging to various other Christian denominations, and around 900 sites belonging to the Salvation Army, have all signed up to a new initiative, the Big Church Switch, which is designed to help churches go green by putting them in touch with dedicated renewable energy providers through an organisation called 2buy2.
Rev Nicholas Holtman, the lead bishop on the environment for the Church of England, explained the general push in terms of theological imperatives.
He said: “The consequences of teaching over recent centuries that humanity has been given domination over creation are clear in the complex environmental crisis we now face.
“It is important that Christians rediscover older traditions of a godly relationship of humanity to the wider created order. One simple thing we can do in response to such a crisis is to switch to using clean energy in our homes, communities, schools and places of worship.”
