A short public service of prayer and dedication to launch the Declaration will be held at St Mary-Le-Bow, Cheapside (5pm Ash Wednesday 22 Feb), and at numerous churches around the country.
'Traditionally, Christians commit themselves to repentance and renewed faith in Jesus Christ on Ash Wednesday,' said David Atkinson, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Southwark. 'We must live out that faith in relation to our damaging consumer economy, over-dependence on fossil fuels and the devastation we, as a species, are inflicting on God's world. We believe that responsible care for God's creation is foundational to the Gospel and central to the church's mission.'
The Declaration, also signed by Most Rev Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, is framed around seven biblical themes and argues that, to be a Christian is to accept the call to radical discipleship and to work through the implications for church life of a real change in lifestyle.
Mary Grey, Emeritus Professor of Theology at the University of Wales, believes the Declaration - subtitled 'Climate Change and the Purposes of God: a call to the Church' - comes at a key moment.
'A second Earth Summit is being prepared and the world seems apathetic towards the real threat to all planetary life,' said Professor Grey.
Bishop David, who leads Operation Noah's theological think tank, points to specific, historical confessions calling the church back to its biblical and theological foundations - notably, the Barmen Declaration of the confessing church in Nazi Germany.
'Various confessions also addressed apartheid in South Africa,' he said. 'We believe that this is a time of urgency for the church. The threat of runaway climate change is the most significant moral question facing us today.'
The revised situation is now clearer following the Government review (February 9th) on renewable energy Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs). The original value of 43p/kWh will not be applicable for new schemes from 3rd March 2012, and the new rate will be set at 21p until July, when it will fall to 13p – 16p (depending on volumes installed in March and April). There could then be a further reduction of 5% in October and future degression of 10% every six months (this will also depend on volumes installed).
However, we believe that even with these reduced tariffs it will still be financially attractive to install PV on the roofs of churches, schools and halls, if these are done promptly.Whereas the previous payback period for panel and installation costs was about 7-8 years and a rate of investment return of around 12%, with improved efficiencies and significantly reduced panel prices, we anticipate the new period may well be 11-13 years and the ROI about 6% -7% for installations before the end of June.
In other words, the payback time will be minimal in relation to the life of most churches, and therefore still very viable.
As part of our Shrinking the Footprint campaign, the main motivation in promoting PV remains the need to reduce our carbon footprint, and moving towards micro-generation through renewable energy is an important means of achieving this.
Further details are outlined in the EcoChurch South West leaflets, including the steps of the process to move forward on a project for your church. If you would like copies of these or other information please let Martyn Goss know the name/address/postcode of the building, together with the name and details of an appropriate contact person.
posted 18 Jan 2012 08:40 by Martyn Goss
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Despite the confusion regarding changes to the Tariffs, we expect the EcoChurch SW scheme to still hold good for Churches. We are now assuming a 21p FiT for churches in the future. There is still no decision on a community buildings tariff (which could favour churches), so we are not including this at present.
Assuming no other changes in estimates, and with the return reduced from 9% to 7%, this continues to represent a positive investment level, and carbon savings are considerable. The price of panels is falling by 20%-30% and efficiencies improving, so payback period could still be about 9-10 years. Details from Joan Harris joanie@exeter.anglican.org (01392-294940)
Church buildings which already have their panels installed independently and are operating include St. Andrew’s Minster and St. Matthias Church Hall in Plymouth,the Boniface Centre at Crediton, Ipplepen Church Hall, Lympstone Parish Church and Wonford Methodist Church.
In a statement read on 9 December to government members from around the world at the United Nations climate summit in Durban, South Africa, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reaffirmed the need for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to effectively address climate change effects on vulnerable communities.
"In Durban, religious communities have come together in various ways to express that climate change is also a moral and spiritual crisis. We proclaim together: We have faith. Act now for climate justice" the statement requested.
It was read to the High Level segment of the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by Elias Crisostomo Abramides, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
During these last two weeks the WCC delegation to COP17, which ended on Sunday in Durban, highlighted the theological, ethical and spiritual dimensions of climate change through various activities.
Expressing his views regarding the COP17, the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said, “Though a minimum deal was achieved at the last minute to keep the Kyoto Protocol, make some steps towards a new legally binding agreement in 2015, and implement the Green Climate Fund, the overall Durban outcome is far from being enough to respond to the currently disappearing countries and future generations.”
“We need to listen to vulnerable countries and populations, and think of the legacy we are leaving to our children. Churches should continue to act and pray, especially during this time when we prepare for Christmas, the event when God sent his Son, Jesus, to save our beloved planet,” he added.
On Saturday, 3 December some 200-300 people associated with the ecumenical “Time for Climate Justice” campaign joined thousands of other peaceful demonstrators marching through the streets of Durban to voice the civil society demands on climate change.
Interfaith advocacy for climate justice
On the following day an interfaith celebration included prayers from Baha'i, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim leaders.
At a workshop organized at Durban's Diakonia Centre, Metropolitan Seraphim of Zimbabwe, from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, asked: "Isn't the work for the care of the creation and against climate change and poverty a concrete way of building the visible unity of the church?"
Dr Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive on Care for Creation and Climate Justice, stressed that once again the negotiations have not met the expectations of the poorest and most affected countries, churches and the civil society at large.
"We are still very far from the committed response that vulnerable communities and regions affected by climate change need to see from the international community in order to address the challenges posed by climate change. Some of the industrialized countries have prevented a more ambitious and effective regime. The decision of Canada of withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol is an example of the failure of the negotiations".
When asked what story of hope he would point out, Kerber said: "At this COP, the Youth for Eco-Justice (Y4EJ) showed the enthusiasm and commitment of the young generation to bridge the gap between eco-justice activities at the congregations with advocacy at the global level."
The Y4EJ, organized jointly by the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation, brought together 30 young adults from all over the world for training, field visits and interaction with COP17.
The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) took place between 28th November and 11 December 2011 in Durban South Africa.
The talks have been heralded a success after a climate change deal was struck in the early hours of Sunday morning (11 December).
In a major realignment of support, well over 120 countries formed a coalition behind the EU’s high ambition proposal of a roadmap to a global legally binding deal to curb emissions. African states together with the least developed countries such as Bangladesh and Gambia, and small island states vulnerable to rising sea levels, like the Maldives, joined with the EU to put forward a timetable which would see the world negotiate a new agreement by 2015 at the latest.
The talks resulted in a decision to adopt the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol next year in return for a roadmap to a global legal agreement covering all parties for the first time. Negotiations will begin on the agreement early next year.
A quarter of people in the UK could suffer more water shortages by the end of the century without action to tackle climate change, the Met Office has warned.
However, the changing climate could also mean almost all of the agricultural land currently farmed in the UK will become more suitable for growing crops, largely as a result of decreasing frosts and cold nights as the country warms.
A series of projections charting the predicted impacts of global warming on 24 countries around the world also revealed that, in a worst-case scenario, there could be a three-and-a-half times greater risk of river flooding in the UK.
As many as 160,000 more people could be at risk of coastal flooding in the face of sea level rises, while 24 per cent of the population in 2100 – around 18 million people – could face increased pressure on their water supplies.
The latest warning on the impacts of climate change, launched during international talks on tackling global warming in Durban, South Africa, comes in the wake of one of the driest 12 months on record for some parts of Britain.
Parts of the south and south east of England are already facing pressure on water resources, and those regions are likely to see an increase in the frequency of droughts and water scarcity, the Exeter-based Met Office Hadley Centre report said.
The study confirmed that the UK was already getting warmer as a result of climate change, experiencing 35 more unseasonably warm days a year in this decade than in the 1960s.
The Met Office projects temperatures could rise by 3C above the 1960-1990 average of 8.3C in the south and 2.5C in the north of the UK without global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Elsewhere in the world the analysis, which used 21 climate models to come up with a range of projected impacts for each country, found that up to 49 million more people worldwide would be at risk of coastal flooding by 2100.
Up to five million extra people could be threatened by coastal flooding in Bangladesh and as many as 19 million more at risk in China.
The data showed all 24 countries studied would see more people at risk of coastal flooding as sea levels rise.
Farmland in the US could also become less suitable for agriculture.
The UK wants a legally binding global agreement to keep the global temperature rise below 2C.
Currently around half of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy used to produce heat. The RHI is intended to reduce emissions by 44 million tonnes of carbon by 2020, equivalent to the annual carbon emitted by 20 typical new gas power stations.
The tariffs will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have installed since 15th July 2009 with payments being made for each kWh of renewable heat which is produced.
Once in the scheme the level of support an installation will receive is fixed and adjusted annually with inflation. However, as with feed in tariffs, it is expected that the levels of support available for new entrants to the RHI scheme will decrease over time as the costs of the equipment and installation reduce through economies of scale.
EcoChurch South West is the new renewable energy project operating in the Dioceses of Bath & Wells, Exeter and Gloucester, in partnership with Ecotricity.
We
believe that even with the reduced tariffs (and especially if there is to be a
new deal for community buildings), it will still be financially attractive to
install PV on the roofs of churches, schools, centres and halls. Whereas the present rate of return to pay off
installation costs is about 7-8 years, with improved efficiencies and reduced
panel prices, we anticipate the new period may well be 10-12 years. The costs of some panels are likely to decrease by about 30% after recent falls.
In
other words, the payback time will be minimal in relation to the life of most
churches, and therefore still very viable.
As
part of our Shrinking the Footprintcampaign, the main motivation in promoting PV remains the need to reduce our
carbon footprint, and moving towards micro-generation through renewable energy
is an important means of achieving this.
Copies of the new EcoChurch South West packs are now available on request with further details about the funding and process for application.
At
this stage if a local church would like to be added (without any commitment)
to a list of schemes for 2012, please send us your church name/address/postcode
of the building, together with the name and details of an appropriate contact
person. A pack will the be sent to all applicants.
Contact:Martyn Goss on 01392-294940; martyn@exeter.anglican.org
posted 2 Nov 2011 04:29 by Martyn Goss
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updated 2 Nov 2011 04:31
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In the last few days there has been a public launch of the Government Comprehensive Review about the Feed-in Tariffs for solar electricity. This is part of a Consultation process until 23rd December to which people are able to make representations.
It is suggested that those concerned about the proposals to reduce the tariffs within 6 weeks reply to the consultation in the strongest terms and put their case in a consistent and clear way, lobbying DECC for the following:
That churches are exempted from the need for EPCs – provided a suitable other benchmarking audit system can be put in place
That churches are allowed until 31st March 2012 to complete and install projects which are currently in the pipeline and benefit from the current FIT
That beyond 1st April 2012 churches are considered alongside other community projects for a specific community tariff.
The implications of this are serious for the work the Diocese is progressing on PV panels, and especially for the EcoChurch SouthWest project with the Dioceses of Bath & Wells and Gloucester and Ecotricity.
Attached is a draft statement about this for parishes and churches involved in the pilots or Stage 2. We shall be re-visiting the Stage 3 churches when we can, but probably not before January. Next week the ECSW team meets in Taunton and I suspect we shall develop this further and perhaps issue guidelines in due course.
Meanwhile, this short paper may help to clarify where we are at the moment.
Regretfully, this is very disappointing for those who have put in a lot of hard work and commitment but hopefully we can move forward more positively in the future.
Hope for Creation is organised by TEARfund and amounts to a global day of global day of prayer and action on climate that will take place on Sunday 6 November 2011.
The aim is to provide a simple way for churches and individuals to pray and act in response to climate change. It’s taking place a month before the next round of UN climate talks (COP) in Durban (28th November – 9th December) so provides a hook for pushing for action there.
