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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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.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about impact of forest fires worldwide”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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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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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.
Continue reading “Football Governance Bill: Bishop of Sheffield supports amendment on Climate Change Act compliance”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.
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about climate and environment targets”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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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.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans leads debate on support for farmers to adapt to climate change”On 21st November 2024, the Bishop of Manchester asked a question on government commitment to working with faith leaders to tackle the climate emergency:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, last year I took a group of leaders from different faiths in Greater Manchester, along with civic leaders, to meet Pope Francis in Rome to discuss his work on climate change, which makes me think: will the Government commit to working with faith leaders, in this country and overseas, as we seek to mitigate the climate emergency?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about role of faith leaders in tackling climate change”On 24th October 2024, the Bishop of St Albans took part in a debate on the impact of the climate agenda on jobs, growth and prosperity, urging the government to consult farmers in the pursuit of the climate change agenda and pledge a renewed and improved agricultural budget of at least £4 billion per year:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, for securing this important debate. I am looking forward very much to the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady May, who I know will bring great insight and experience to your Lordships’ House. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.
We need to take climate change extremely seriously. I commend the previous Government, and indeed some of the plans of the present Administration, for the steps they have taken and are taking. I support the plea by the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, for open and transparent costs of net zero so that we can make informed choices; that seems fundamental to all that we do in every part of our work. Other noble Lords will be able to speak in a more informed way than I can about the positive impact that net zero can have on the economy, not least in terms of jobs in new and emerging sectors such as renewable energy. It will also offset the negative economic impacts that climate change brings with it, such as droughts, pollution and ill health.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans urges government to ensure that farmers are included in discussions on the climate change agenda”
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