THE Church Commissioners’ Net Zero Carbon Programme is one in all the “fundamental points of our Christian mission”, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, who leads on the environment, has said.
The programme, which was established in 2020 after being approved by the General Synod (News, 14 February 2020), supports the Church’s goal to attain net-zero carbon by 2030. This includes reducing carbon emissions in parishes, dioceses, cathedrals, schools and other buildings, and thru work-related transport.
In July 2022, Synod members approved the routemap to succeed in net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 (News, 15 July 2022), searching for to diminish the Church’s emissions by 90 per cent against the present baseline. In 2023, the Commissioners’ announced £30 million can be allocated to fund a spread of schemes to support this goal over the subsequent five years (News, 20 October 2023).
The latest Net Zero Carbon Impact Report, published last week, states: “Any remaining emissions (not more than 10 per cent) will probably be offset in verified schemes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” Although the findings “suggest an overall reduction in carbon emissions in comparison with 2021, the totals usually are not directly comparable as a result of improvements within the assessment methods”, it says.
The highest carbon-emitting buildings are schools (38 per cent), housing (21 per cent), medium-sized churches (14 per cent), and enormous churches (nine per cent).
Organisational travel accounts for five per cent of all emissions, and so do church halls. Cathedrals are at three per cent, and offices at one per cent.
“We know that is hugely difficult but caring for God’s creation and reducing the impact now we have upon our planet are fundamental points of our Christian mission,” the report says.
In 2024, the Net Zero Carbon programme funded 102 projects to decarbonise heating systems in schools, together with 33 public-sector decarbonisation scheme applications. The programme funded £490,494, and helped to lever in £5.9 million value of presidency funding.
To help cathedrals to perform technical surveys, £600,000 was allocated, and a further £600,000 was released as a part of the Boiler Replacement Hardship Fund to assist churches pay for a carbon-friendly heating solution when their boiler fails.
A vicarage in Bristol has been renovated with recent pipework, radiators, an air-source heat pump, loft insulation, and solar panels. The Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Derek Maddox, and his family, live within the Nineteen Seventies constructing, along with a Ukrainian family. In the report, Mr Maddox says : “We think that our bills will probably be halved, if no more. It will need less energy to heat the home as a result of the improvements to the constructing, and alongside an all-electric highly efficient heating system, it implies that we will be net zero.” This is a component of the diocese of Bristol’s programme to make 130 clergy houses more fuel-efficient.
The Net Zero Programme’s pilot match-funding scheme, Give to Go Green, has raised £503,000 — matched by £452,000 — for green projects across 71 churches in eight dioceses.
Bishop Usher said: “Our work to reverse the damage now we have done to the world, through our care, prayer, and motion, can be a probability to live our faith alongside our neighbours and people we may not normally get the possibility to interact with.”
The Net Zero Programme director, Julian Atkins, said: “We recognise that achieving net zero is a fancy challenge, and plenty of churches are finding it harder to attain for a complete host of reasons — that’s why now we have dedicated grants and support available to assist them on this journey.”
