In September 2019, in the light of the climate and loss of biodiversity crises, Christ Church launched an “Eco -Group”, with the aim of examining our own responsibilities in this area. By working towards the A Rocha Eco-Church awards, we are looking at all aspects of church life, from the way we use our buildings and grounds to the worship and teaching and our individual lifestyles. Through regular input into Church meeting and items in our monthly magazine, Comment, these issues are kept in the foreground of our thinking. The most recent four articles in Comment can be found below.
JUNE 2023 - We have now been awarded the A Rocha Bronze Award - Certificate here
Item from September/October 2026
“Phew, what a scorcher!”
With apologies to those who have had enough of hearing about the weather, it seems impossible, in an item on environmental matters, not to talk about the extraordinary summer we have been experiencing. We have seen temperature records being broken and then broken again, not just in the UK but across Europe, wildfires causing devastation to landscapes, forests and homes and drought at disturbing levels. This year, maybe for the first time, we have all felt the effects of climate change for ourselves, not something that is a potential issue for the future but a present reality.
For most of us the issue has just been the discomfort of temperatures we are not really used to, but the effects of these kinds of extreme weather are potentially much more serious than that. Climate scientists who have warned of the danger of food shortages due to climate change have often been accused of scaremongering, but we know already that harvests this year, not just in the UK and Europe but also the US and Canade, are at record lows. In a normal year we assume that, if necessary, we can import what we need but this does not work when the problem is global. Chris Jaccarini, food economist at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said “Unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut to net zero, extreme weather will continue to intensify, putting ever increasing pressure on farm businesses, food production and ultimately food prices.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has written, “The most common refrain I hear from climate deniers is that green policies are some kind of luxury divorced from the worries of working people who are just trying to get by. But the idea that you can separate the climate crisis from the cost of living is patently absurd. What happens when droughts cause food prices to rise and when oil-price shocks squeeze household budgets? When hospitals are overwhelmed by vulnerable people struggling in the heat? When railways and roads buckle, workplaces close and schools are shuttered? The notion that climate action represents “woke nonsense” relies on the ridiculous premise that the climate crisis isn’t real – or that if it is, we won’t feel its impact on our lives. This year has proven just how wrong that is.”
It is becoming impossible to argue that we cannot afford green policies, when the economic cost of extreme weather is becoming so evident. Direct economic costs arise because workers across many industries become less productive in heatwaves, infrastructure and equipment overheats and has to be shut down. When we add in the costs of repairing the damage caused by fires and drought, the economic cost to the UK this year will run into billions of pounds. Not to mention the hurt caused to natural environments and individual lives.
The good news here is perhaps that the climate crisis is now apparent to all and increasingly difficult to deny. It is noticeable how both the issue of working towards net zero and that of adopting measures to adapt to a changing climate are being widely discussed on mainstream news channels. For some time, it seems, public opinion on combatting climate change has been ahead of that of the politicians; perhaps greater action to protect our precious planet and its people is now a little more likely.
Item from July/August 2026
Is this Utopian?
A new report by the World Inequality Lab aims to be the most comprehensive attempt yet to navigate the various crises that are pushing the world toward climate chaos, political extremism and ever greater economic and social tension. By incorporating inequality studies, climate science and proposals for creating a political coalition capable of reforming the world’s financial architecture, it claims humanity can raise global living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2°C rise. This “plan for equality and prosperity within planetary boundaries” is the product of 45 authors based on databases compiled by more than 200 researchers from around the world.
The report offers a set of bold policy proposals, including hefty wealth taxes on billionaires, (the megarich would be highly taxed because they are most responsible for the climate crisis), reductions in working hours, a change in diets as consumption of red meat is one of the main drivers of deforestation and ecological destruction, and a shift of investment from materially intense sectors like industry and mining to education and health. It claims that, if these and other measures are taken, 89% of the world population would see their incomes double by 2100 and global heating would be kept below 2°C above the preindustrial average.
Central to the report’s thinking is the concept of “sufficiency”, the idea that people can enjoy a prosperous, healthy life without constantly striving to consume or accumulate more material possessions that degrade the natural world on which all life depends. This echoes ancient Indigenous beliefs in the inextricable connection between humanity and the natural world, as well as ideas of a country’s success being based on “gross national happiness” rather than “gross domestic product.”
Tackling inequality is a central goal, with the greatest gains to be seen in the global south, while the other priority is reducing climate risks by cutting emissions as close to zero as possible. This is projected to keep global temperature rises to 1.8°C by the end of the century – considerably lower than the catastrophic 4°C to 4.5°C estimates under scenarios of slow decarbonisation and ever-increasing demand for material goods.
“A habitable, equal 21st century is materially possible,” the report concludes. “What stands in the way is not technical impossibility but political choice and the hard but crucial work of building a coalition behind it.” Cornelia Mohren, a co-author and environmental coordinator at the WIL, acknowledged the report was “visionary and maybe utopian” but said this was necessary to show other paths were possible. “It is good to know we can combine an equal world with staying within carbon budgets,” she said.
This report raises many questions and it is impossible to do it justice in this brief report. Is it Utopian? Does its vision come anywhere close to building the Kingdom of God on Earth? Just asking.
Kate Helleur
Eco-tip for July. When making a cup of tea, only boil the amount of water that you need. You waste electricity (and money) heating water you won’t use.
Item from June 2026
Psalm 65:9-10
"You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.”
Water is essential to life and a vital, precious resource. Growing up in the west of the country, where it felt like it rained too much, lack of water never seemed likely, but life in the East feels a little different! And now the disrupted weather patterns caused by climate change are making us realise that we cannot take an abundance of water for granted. Too much rain falls in some places while others suffer drought. As the hot weather arrives, we wonder what the summer will hold for us. Will there be plenty of rain or maybe a hosepipe ban?
A House of Lords report, just published, from the Environment and Climate Change Committee, concludes that urgent actions need to be taken to avoid the risk of serious shortages in the coming decades. It says that the country needs to manage rainfall more effectively, with new reservoirs to collect and store it. The report calls for:
- Changes to building regulations to require new homes to achieve a maximum water usage of 105 litres a person a day and increased use of grey water
- Nature-based solutions such as restoring peat bogs and reconnecting rivers to their natural flood plains to improve the retention of water.
- An urgent awareness campaign for the whole of society to reduce water usage
- A full environmental and economic assessment of drought to weigh the - cost of doing nothing against the value of building resilience.
The part that we, as individuals, can play now is to be conscious of our water use and reduce any wastage. Not to take this vital resource for granted but to value it and use it wisely.
Eco-tips for June
Only use the washing machine when you have a full load.
Don’t necessarily discard “grey water”, i.e. used water from, for instance, your washing-up bowl, but use it to water your garden or pots.
Item from May 2026
Greener finances
Maybe it is something about being British, but we tend to be very reticent about talking about money. But how we save, invest and spend our money – both as a church and as individuals - is part of our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation.
So I was happy to attend an online training session recently given to a meeting of BUEN (the Baptist Union Environmental Network) by the JustMoney Movement. “We have” they say, “a vision of a world where money is used to shape a fairer, greener future”, and they aim to help Christians explore ethical issues surrounding their finances.
Do we actually know how our banks are using our money? We probably should.
In the 10 years since the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, the world’s top 60 private-sector banks poured $7.9 trillion into the fossil fuel industry as well as financing companies involved in deforestation and plastic pollution that are damaging nature and contributing to the climate crisis – but are we, their customers, aware of that? JustMoney offer resources which give us the opportunity to compare the high street banks with which, no doubt, many of us bank, in terms of their ethical and environmental credentials. (Bank.Green, for example, easily found online, gives helpful rankings.) Do explore the JustMoney Movement website for more information.
And then there is the question of how we spend our money. Greener purchasing is not just about what we buy, but how much we buy, and includes a commitment to reduce waste. Do we all know the mantra by now? Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Repair, Recycle. And when we do need to buy something, do we think about the potential environmental or human cost of its production or how long it is likely to last? This is undoubtedly difficult in the reality of our retail environment, where obsolescence is sometimes built into household appliances or tech products and finding the lowest price is often (understandably for many) the most important thing to consumers. I noticed this week a certain high street store in Ipswich selling a good, cotton T-shirt for a mere £3. This cannot possibly reflect the true cost of the production of this item – materials, labour, transport, environmental effect - but certainly makes it a very appealing buy. Indeed, one could be tempted to buy two! Walter Brueggemann, theologian, said, “Money and possessions belong to God and are held in trust by human persons in community. Money and possessions must be managed in the practice of justice, that is, for the good of the entire community.”
Eco-Tip for May: If you can afford to leave some of your lawn unmown for the next few months, it will be of great benefit to many invertebrates including beetles, worms, caterpillars, moths, butterflies and bees – and the birds who might feed on them.