Shrinking the footprint
Encyclopedia
Shrinking the footprint is a campaign by the Church of England
to reduce its carbon footprint
.
The campaign is being led by the Bishop of London
, Dr Richard Chartres
and was launched on World Environment Day in June 2006 with an invitation to all churches to carry out an energy audit
and debate energy-related issues. This is seen as the first step to achieving 'The 20% Church' – cutting carbon emissions from Church activities, structures and processes to 20% of current levels by 2050, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
.
The campaign follows a discussion at the 2005 General Synod
that resulted in a call for the Church to engage with the issues of climate change
and energy use
.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
to reduce its carbon footprint
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
.
The campaign is being led by the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
, Dr Richard Chartres
Richard Chartres
Richard John Carew Chartres KCVO FSA is the current Bishop of London, a position he has held since 1995. Before this appointment, he was Bishop of Stepney and Gresham Professor of Divinity .-Early life:...
and was launched on World Environment Day in June 2006 with an invitation to all churches to carry out an energy audit
Energy audit
An energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into the system without negatively affecting the output.-Principle:...
and debate energy-related issues. This is seen as the first step to achieving 'The 20% Church' – cutting carbon emissions from Church activities, structures and processes to 20% of current levels by 2050, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
.
The campaign follows a discussion at the 2005 General Synod
General Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
that resulted in a call for the Church to engage with the issues of climate change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and energy use
Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
Energy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...
.
See also
- Avoiding dangerous climate changeAvoiding Dangerous Climate ChangeThe related terms "avoiding dangerous climate change" and "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" date to 1995 and earlier, in the Second Assesment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change and previous science it cites.In 2002, the United Nations...
- Business action on climate changeBusiness action on climate changeBusiness action on climate change includes a range of activities relating to global warming, and to influencing political decisions on global-warming-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol...
- Individual and political action on climate changeIndividual and political action on climate changeIndividual and political action on climate change can take many forms, most of which have the ultimate goal of limiting and/or reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, toward avoiding dangerous climate change.-Political action:...
- Energy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...
- Energy policy of the United KingdomEnergy policy of the United KingdomThe current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
- Kyoto ProtocolKyoto ProtocolThe Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
External links
Further reading
- Sharing God's Planet (Church of England's statement on the environment); Church House Publishing; ISBN 071514068X
- How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian? David Shreeve & Claire Foster; Church House Publishing; ISBN 978-07151-4127-4.