Church of England aims to improve air quality

The Church of England (C of E) has launched a seven-year climate change strategy which will include measures to reduce the organisation's CO2 emissions and improve air quality.

Global faith leaders met with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon on November 2nd to discuss climate change initiatives ahead of the world summit in Copenhagen next month.

Leaders at the C of E have set emissions reduction targets that follow the national goal of an 80 per cent cut by 2050. The church also intends to reduce its carbon footprint by 42 per cent over the next 11 years.

Other initiatives set out in the plan include gaining eco-school status for its 4,700 educational institutions across the UK by 2016 and twinning parishes in the UK with those in the developing world which are facing the early effects of climate change.

Commenting on the report, Dr Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, said: "The Church of England has gone beyond rhetoric in producing Church and Earth, a challenging plan for action which makes serious demands on our community, our schools and churches."

In 2007, the church launched its Shrinking the Footprint campaign with the aim of reducing its carbon output. The programme, which was initially about carbon emissions, has now been extended to target water and biodiversity.

Posted by Joseph Hutton