The Anglican Church of Australia has urged its members to pursue net zero carbon emissions by 2040 in operations across the country.
We are facing a climate emergency and we need to respond to that in ways that are a living testament to our faith,” says The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Dean of St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, who moved the motion.
Dr Catt, who holds Bachelor of Divinity as well as a PhD in Evolutionary Microbiology, said that the crisis was not just a problem that could be left to science to solve, but a religious one.
“It is also a crisis for God’s creation and a fundamental injustice,” he says.
The latest resolution by the Church’s General Synod, effectively its parliament, is built on a 2017 resolution for member churches to work towards building climate resilience.
The Australian Church also follows a 2020 resolution of the General Synod of The Church of England to work to achieve year-on-year reductions in emissions, with a more ambitious target of reaching net zero emissions by 2030.
Under the Australian resolution, member churches Submit their best estimates of carbon emissions annually.
“That will enable us as a Province to track our progress toward net zero carbon emissions,” say Dr Catt.
