Anglican responses to climate change: local level

Salt-tolerant seedlings on their way to Ontong Java. Food security initiative of the Anglican Church of Melanesia - adapting to increased soli salinity.

On this page are examples of how Anglicans are responding to the impacts of climate change locally – whether in responding to disasters, helping with long-term recovery, preparing for disasters and building community resilience, undertaking mitigation initiatives, helping communities adapt to the changing climate, making people more aware, or through other action and advocacy.

Some of these are highlighted in the 4-page summary of Anglican Responses to Climate Change, which you can download from the resources section on the right of this page.

There will be many more than those highlighted here, and we apologise to those whose work is not mentioned. Please let us know about other initiatives you know of, or are involved with, so we can develop this page further and share other examples of great practice.

NB: See also our other two pages of responses for: examples of connecting and sharing across the Communion and for examples of Communion-wide initiatives.

Examples of local responses

Responding to disasters – some recent examples include:

The youth call centre ‘Cyber Warrior’ team. Image: Church of South India, Diocese of East Kerala

Helping with long term recovery:

Rebuilding communities in the Philippines

Disaster preparedness and resilience-building:

Anglican youth in Tonga received training in how to help their communities adapt to climate change and respond to disasters which they were soon called upon to put into action – and for which they won an award
Disaster preparedness and community empowerment in Sri Lanka
Localizing responses to disasters – see also the section on Pastors and Disasters below
Rebuilding resilience in Fiji after Cyclone Winston
Indigenous churches ministering among families affected by the climate emergency – Canada
See what Anglican Overseas Aid (New Zealand) is doing to help communities prepare for disasters and adapt to a changing climate

Mitigation initiatives:

Young Anglicans leading the way:

Young people in Pakistan and Kenya take the lead on care for the environment
Anglican Church of Kenya becomes third province to launch Green Anglicans movement
In the video below, Leah Namugerwa, a 15 year old climate activist from Uganda, speaks at COP25

Helping communities adapt to the consequences of a changing climate:

Anglicans in Melanesia help communities to relocate
Adapting to a changing climate – tackling food security in Melanesia

Engaging the Church:

The Church of South India has adopted a Green Protocol for Green Discipleship, An initiative of CSI’s Department of Ecology, the Green Protocol has attracted media attention (see here and here).
In February 2020, the Church of England’s General Synod set an ambitious target date of 2030 for the Church of England to become carbon neutral. The Church of England has produced A practical path to net zero carbon for churches. Several Church of England dioceses are developing strong diocesan environmental plans and measuring progress, including London Diocese.
The Church in Wales has a booklet, Caring for Each Other; Caring for God’s Creation in Welsh or English.
Not specifically Anglican, but Eco Church in England and Wales is a wonderful tool for churches, which many Anglican churches in the UK are using.

Investment and advocacy:

The Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) is a free-to-use global initiative aimed at investors, which assesses companies’ preparedness for the transition to a low-carbon economy. It tracks and evaluates companies’ management of their greenhouse gas emissions and compares their performance against the Paris Agreement. It was co-founded by the Church of England’s National Investing Bodies and the Environment Agency Pension Fund.
In 2016, the Church of Southern Africa voted to divest from fossil fuels.
At UN climate conference, Episcopal delegation urges nations to act swiftly and justly.