Action for Hope is the Methodist Church in Britain’s response to the climate emergency. Last year Conference declared that it “wholeheartedly agrees and affirms that the climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation and a fundamental injustice” and we’ve now got a plan for what we should do about this. You can read the Connexional plan here.
In response, this September our Synod approved a District Action for Hope Policy (you can read the full document here) which builds on the ideas in the national plan. It has four major drives to:
- Speak truth to power in demanding climate action and justice
- Achieve net carbon zero by 2030 and support our members to do the same
- Increase positive environmental impact of our investments.
- Attain a gold Ecodistrict award by 2027.
We’ll only be able to get that gold award if 40% of our churches get an Ecochurch award, which is a big ask! So, we’re staging it by aiming for a bronze award (10% of churches) by the end of next year, and a silver award (20%) in 2025. We’re hoping to set up a support network so that we can share experiences and help each other. If you’d like to join, then please get in touch (email below).
Achieving net zero by 2030 will require fast action, and the District Climate Group is working on a detailed plan for this. We’re hoping to support any church to commission an energy audit which will tell them what they need to do to reduce energy consumption. We also hope to be able to make funds available to finance this (which will also lead to savings on gas and electricity bills). If any churches are interested in helping us pilot this, then (you guessed it!) please get in touch.
Climate change is an imposing challenge but if we all work together then we can make a difference.
Richard Baker
richard.baker.1593@gmail.com