Methodists have become the first large faith group in the UK to introduce carbon reduction measures that are binding on all their local churches. They have pledged an eighty per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050. The decision has put pressure on other faith groups to follow suit.

Triumph Ayo-Isegun, Methodist projects officer, described the decision as ‘the first step’ in a ‘long journey with massive challenges’.
The news was warmly welcomed as an ‘exciting initiative’ by Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW).

The decision was made at the annual Methodist Conference in Bournemouth last week. Friends as a whole have not made such a binding commitment, but sustainability will be a major focus for Quakers at Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) in 2011.

Quakers have already pledged to reduce carbon emissions from Friends’ House by at least ten per cent during 2010, a commitment shared by a number of individual Meetings. In addition, Christian Ecology Link allows churches and Meetings to register as ‘eco-congregations’. Earlier this year, St George’s Anglican Church in Newbury pledged to become Britain’s first carbon-neutral place of worship.

But the Methodist decision is unusual in involving a national commitment that is binding at local level. Certain energy efficiency measures will become mandatory for church buildings and manses. Methodist regional organisations, known as circuits, will be required to provide smart meter devices.

Asked if all Methodists at local level could be expected to abide by a national decision of this nature, a Methodist Church spokesperson emphasised that the Conference that reached the agreement included representatives from all over the country. ‘The decision has been made by well-informed people,’ she said.

Sunniva Taylor, sustainability and peace programme manager at QPSW said, ‘It’s great that the Methodist Church is making a collective commitment to such cuts.’

Any similar commitment by Quakers would be a matter for BYM. Sunniva added, ‘Many Quakers have made substantial efforts to reduce the impact of their lifestyles. Some have achieved fifty to seventy per cent reductions in emissions compared to the national average, and have found this to be a joyful and rewarding experience.’

The environment was not the only controversial subject on the agenda at Methodist Conference. Participants resolved to support a boycott of goods from the Occupied Territories in Palestine. The Methodist Church also agreed to explore the question of co-habitation, following a request from the Youth Assembly.

The Church’s new president, Alison Tomlin, said that God was calling them to be ‘passionate for justice, passionate to be peacemakers, passionate to make sure other people hear how much they are loved’.