Tag: climate change

Bishop of Norwich asks about language used in COP environmental pledges

The Bishop of Norwich asked a question on altering of language used regarding the transition away from fossil fuels during a discussion on COP 30 on 3rd December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comments. I pay tribute to Secretary of State Miliband for his sheer commitment working towards COP 30—building, let us not forget, on the work that the previous Government achieved, led particularly by the noble Lords, Lord Sharma and Lord Goldsmith. Those were Conservative commitments.

However, I note that in the language around coal and fossil fuels at successive COPs, there has been a great weakening, from the “phasing out” of Glasgow through “phasing down” to “transitioning away” and now to a weak plan and pathway. It was St Basil the Great who spoke about us always having two different paths,

“one broad and easy, the other hard and narrow”,

and that within our minds we are always working out which path to take. Basil said:

“The soul is confused and dithers in its calculations. It prefers pleasure when it is looking at the present; it chooses virtue when its eye is on eternity”.

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Bishop of Norwich asks about climate finance and deforestation

The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answer on 2nd December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on their stated ambition to deliver £11.6 billion of International Climate Finance between April 2021 and March 2026, of which £1.5 billion should be adaptation and resilience finance for 2025.

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Bishop of Norwich asks about preparation for COP 30

The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answer on 25th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in aiding the implementation of the Baku to Belém Roadmap in preparation for COP 30.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about impact of forest fires worldwide

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 6th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that destruction of the world’s forests reached the highest level ever recorded in 2024, primarily due to a surge in fires.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about energy costs and global warming

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the publication in Environmental Research Letters on 31 March of Reconsidering the macroeconomic damage of severe warming, what assessment they have made of the finding that global warming will have a significant negative impact on the size of the global economy.

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Bishop of Southwark emphasises importance of meeting environmental targets

The Bishop of Southwark spoke in a debate on the affordability of the net-zero emissions target on 3rd April 2025, advocating for continued pursual of the 2050 goal of net-zero emissions:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, this is a timely debate. I am very glad to be able to speak in it. I am reminded that the preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes says:

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven”,

including—I dare to mention in your Lordships’ House—a time to speak and a time to keep silence.

For the Church, increased costs have a material effect on what we can do, but I am as reluctant as anyone else to tilt at windmills or turbines. Not only the scientific consensus about human activity and climate but the dramatic changes of one’s lifetime—expanding deserts, retreating glaciers, rising sea temperature, extreme weather events—lead me to believe that this is a situation where the option is not “when”, or even “what”, but “how”. As with other great crises, we must shoulder the burden, and it is a challenge to our political leadership to share this task. In the Church of England, we have an exceptionally challenging target set by General Synod of achieving net zero by 2030. The national Church has ring-fenced £190 million to support its churches and clergy housing towards this goal.

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Football Governance Bill: Bishop of Sheffield supports amendment on Climate Change Act compliance

On 11th March 2025, the Bishop of Sheffield spoke in support of amendment 13 to the Football Governance Bill which would ensure that football clubs comply with the Climate Change Act 2008:

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 13, to which I have added my name. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for tabling this significant addition to the Bill.

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Bishop of Norwich asks about climate and environment targets

On 26th February 2025, the Bishop of Norwich received the following written answers:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards meeting the statutory environmental target of 16.5 per cent tree cover in England by 2050.

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Bishop of Norwich asks about climate change, biodiversity, and the environment

The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answers on 24th February 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Economic Forum’s top two global risks over the next ten years, namely extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, and biodiversity loss.

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Bishop of St Albans leads debate on support for farmers to adapt to climate change

The Bishop of St Albans led a debate on support for farmers to adapt to climate change amid anticipated food shortages on 23rd January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government, following reports that the United Kingdom faces shortages of broccoli and cauliflower this spring, what steps they are taking to support farmers and growers to adapt to climate change.

My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. I thank those Members of your Lordships’ House who have signed up to engage today on what I believe is an important and topical issue. Our debate is about the shortage of great British broccoli and cauliflowers—and, of course, many other vegetables as well—which have been part of our staple diet for years, and the difficulties caused, at least in part, by climate degradation. It is fitting that we have this debate just prior to the start of agri-science week in this Parliament.

Farming is an extremely tough profession at the best of times, and the range of setbacks and difficulties our farmers face is huge. I have to say I am deeply troubled by the low morale and depression that I hear at the moment from farms across my diocese, in all corners of the agricultural world. I want to take a moment here to pay tribute to all farmers and those involved in associated industries for their hard work, their dedication, their resilience and the critical services they provide to us all as they produce food. We must not take them for granted.

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