Climate Justice Fund

The Church of England has responded to poverty in a changing climate by setting up A Climate Justice Fund in partnership with Tearfund.

The Climate Justice Fund website – www.climatejusticefund.orgprovides an opportunity to take campaigning action. It also provides resources to help you pray and talk about the issue with others.

The website also gives churches and individuals the opportunity to compensate for the size of their carbon footprints. You can calculate the size of your carbon footprint and how much your household or church needs to compensate. When you work out your annual CO2 emissions, you’re shown how this compares with the ‘fair share’ average.

People in poor countries are being hit hardest by climate change. As individuals, families and churches, we can make a difference to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Across the world, it is the poorest and most vulnerable – who have contributed least to the problem – who will continue to suffer unless we act now.

Archbishop Williams“The Climate Justice Fund is a creative and practical response to the concerns raised at the Lambeth Conference by bishops speaking first hand about the devastating impact of climate change on their communities; in some instances threatening their Provinces’ very survival.” Says the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Rowan Williams.

“We need to reduce our carbon footprint. We also need to address the major challenges being faced by our brothers and sisters, especially in the south. Climate change is not just about science; it’s about justice. By contributing to the fund we can make good some of the damage that our excessive consumption is having on the poorest. I hope that individuals and parish communities will seize this opportunity to give generously.”

The Climate Justice Fund supports three Anglican projects – in Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo – which help poor communities adapt to the challenges of climate change.

Any money donated is managed by Tearfund, which has more than 40 years’ experience in development and is taking a leading role in both grassroots action to counter the effects of climate change and high-level advocacy to secure effective international measures to tackle this issue.

If we had a minute’s silence for every person who lost their life to climate change, we’d be silent for more than 200 days. By campaigning, we can obey the biblical mandate to speak up for those living in poverty. ‘Loose the chains of injustice.’ (Isaiah 58)