Responding to Climate Change: Church of Scotland General Assembly 2009

Climate change is an ethical issue

The project Responding to Climate Change began in November 2007. Its purpose is to help the church develop an effective response to climate change, both in its own actions and in its contribution to the wider debate. The project reflects the Church’s ethical concern about climate change. This was summed up at the outset of the project by the Convener of the Church and Society Council:

The Church of Scotland is concerned that climate change poses a serious and immediate threat to people everywhere, particularly to the poor of the earth; and that climate change represents a failure in our stewardship of God’s creation. We accept the need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases urgently to avoid dangerous and irreversible climate change; and to promote a more equitable and sustainable use of energy.

This ethical concern has informed the development of the project and remains its main driving force.

Key achievements

The work of the project is not confined to one council or committee. There has been progress across the Church. While it is not possible to cover all this work, the following paragraphs list some of the main achievement of the project to date.
Eco-Congregation Scotland

Central to the development of the project is the growth in the number of Eco-Congregations across Scotland. In November 2008 the 200th congregation in Scotland registered as an Eco–Congregation (Strathfillan in the Presbytery of Argyll). The movement also received warm congratulations from MSPs and government ministers in a debate held in the Scottish Parliament on 17 December 2008. Congregations across Scotland were encouraged by MSPs both to continue their work and to tackle climate change as a priority. The debate was a milestone and an affirmation of the importance of Eco-Congregations.

How big is your congregation’s carbon footprint?
With a grant from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) a pilot project was carried out to develop and test a simple carbon footprint tool for congregations. By keeping a close check on fuel bills and using a simple calculator congregations can now easily work out their carbon footprint. The pilot was highly successful and has led to a larger and more ambitious application to the Scottish Government Climate Challenge Fund which is described below.

Governance and finance

Eco–Congregation Scotland has developed as an informal association of congregations. This arrangement served the movement well in its early years but as the number of congregations has increased it has become clear that it is no longer adequate. For this reason the Eco-Congregation Scotland Steering Group, with the support of the Church and Society Council and the Church in Society Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church agreed that the time was now right to establish Eco-Congregation Scotland as an independent legally constituted voluntary organisation. This is major step for any organisation and involves considerable challenges for all stakeholders. At the same time it offers the opportunity for Eco-Congregations to grow and develop to play a greater role in the life of congregations, the churches and in their local communities.


The future

It is now clear that climate change will be one of the defining global challenges of the twenty first century. Climate change represents a massive failure in our stewardship of the earth and a major contribution to poverty and social dislocation. For these reasons the Church must contribute to national and international action. By demonstrating our commitment and by taking action the Church of Scotland can take a leading role across Scotland.


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