DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (News Release ref :
123/07) issued by The Government News Network on 8 May 2007
England's
historic churches and cathedrals face the same tough choices
forced on us all by climate change, Climate Change and Environment
Minister Ian Pearson said today.
Speaking at the Cathedrals and Climate Change Conference at
Lambeth Palace, organised by the Association of English
Cathedrals, Mr Pearson welcomed the commitment of churches and
cathedrals to join the national effort to cut carbon emissions and
start adapting to the inevitable impacts climate change will have
on our historic environment.
Mr Pearson said:
"Cathedrals are important spiritual, historic and cultural
buildings. Many of our churches and cathedrals have stood for
hundreds of years. They play a vital role as a focus for worship,
as the hub of faith communities, as a cultural symbol for the
region and as international icons that make an important
contribution to the tourism economy.
"Be that as it may, they are not immune to the effects of
climate change. We need to take care of our cathedrals now, as
they need to be prepared for the more extreme weather of the
future and must start adapting if they are still to be standing a
century from now.
"Medieval cathedrals stand today as monuments to the skill,
ingenuity and ambition of the engineers and architects of their
time: a testament to the potential of mankind to solve problems
creatively and with dedication. We need to apply this creativity
to finding climate solutions.
"While a wind-turbine on St Paul's might raise a few
eyebrows, I'd love to see solar panels on church halls,
biomass boilers in church schools, and maybe in future we should
be thinking about how, by using microgeneneration, cathedrals can
help produce energy as well as use it".
Mr Pearson said that climate change would affect everyone on an
individual level, and could not be a problem for governments or
businesses alone.
"The Church of England and other faith groups can play a
vital part in promoting action against climate change here in the
UK and internationally," he said.
"Many churches and cathedrals are already doing innovative,
practical work to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate
change. They can mobilise communities and are spreading the
message that doing something about climate change needn't
involve a grand gesture - every small step is important."
There are many examples of the Church already taking the
initiative, such as:
* A new booklet, entitled 'How many light bulbs does it take
to change a Christian?', which is part of the Church of
England's Shrinking the Footprint Campaign, is a practical
guide with green tips for individuals, communities and their churches.
* Portsmouth Cathedral, who last summer let their youth group do
an environmental audit of the cathedral. One of their canons is
now an environmental watchdog. At one of their services, they also
gave away low energy light bulbs and loo flush reducers to the congregation.
* St Paul's Cathedral's Costing the Earth series
stimulated debate from the worlds of economics, science, religion
and business to address the issues of climate change and how
individuals can play a part in working for a sustainable future
for our planet.
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres said:
"The aims of the conference directly support the wider
Church of England "Shrinking the Footprint" campaign
endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and
launched on World Environment Day last year. The Archbishop of
Canterbury has several times pointed out that we have no right to
appeal to our contemporaries on this issue if we have failed to
put our own house in order. There is spiritual work and there is
scrutiny of our own life together in our use of the gifts of
creation. We can all as individuals play our part and the Church
is well placed in the local community to build change in this area."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working
group two report in April this year - the work of thousands of
independent scientists across the world - concluded that rising
temperatures caused by human induced climate change over the last
30 years have already had an impact on people and the environment.
In the UK, buildings will have to be better able to cope with the
higher temperatures and more extreme weather that climate change
will bring.
Notes to Editors
1. The Conference was hosted by the Association of English
Cathedrals (AEC). It considered the part all forty-three Church of
England Cathedrals can play in addressing global warming.
Cathedral Deans, architects and administrators heard expert
testimony to the way global warming will affect these priceless
historic buildings, from the effect of heat on large expanses of
lead roof and medieval stained glass to greatly increased
rainfall, storms and lighting. They considered a carbon footprint
strategy for each cathedral and identified small ways in which
cathedrals can contribute to reducing pollution by use of energy
saving electrical appliances, increased recycling, heating and
water use.
2. Some of the risks that face Durham cathedral have also been
highlighted in a study by the Environment Agency in the Wear
Valley. Buildings on clay can also experience problems such as
subsidence and rotting wood. UNESCO recently published a report on
world heritage sites and climate change. Westminster Abbey was
used as a case study in the report. It recognised that flood
inundation from the Thames may be a problem. While many cathedrals
are built on hills there are some such as Winchester, Salisbury
and the London buildings that may be at risk from flash flooding
because of heavy rainfall.
3. More information on the Church of England's National
Environmental Campaign can be found at: http://www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org/
The contact for the Church of England is Alexander Nicoll on 0207
898 1459
4. The Government is currently working on phase two of the
Adaptation Policy Framework. This responds to many of the issues
raised during the consultation held in phase one. Departments and
the devolved administrations are working together to develop a
cross-government adaptation plan which will identify priority
areas for action and areas where Government departments need to
work together across sectors to ensure that the UK is adapting
well to the impacts of climate change. The framework will be
published at the end of 2007.
5. April's IPCC report can be found at: http://www.ipcc.ch. This is the
second of three volumes forming the Fourth Assessment Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This will be
followed by a synthesis report that will encapsulate the key
conclusions of the three working groups. The Fourth Assessment
Report of the IPCC was published on 4 May 2007. It builds upon
past assessments and incorporates new results from the past six
years of research. The first report on the science of climate
change was published on 2 February 2007.
6. The IPCC was set up in 1988 to assess the scientific and
technical aspects of climate change, and has produced a series of
publications, which have become standard works of reference. More
information is available on the IPCC website http://www.ipcc.ch.
7. Because of the time lag in the carbon system, and due to our
past emissions - we are still going to experience a certain level
of climate change. Even if we stopped all emissions tomorrow we
would expect around another 30-40 years of temperature rise, and
more than a century of sea-level rise. That is why it is crucial
that we are prepared for the changes we are going to experience,
such as hotter temperatures, flooding and drought.
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