500+ signatories call church leaders to use land to benefit climate and nature

To mark World Environment Day, Christian climate charity Operation Noah called on UK Churches, which own 1% of UK land, to achieve net zero land emissions by 2030, and delivered an Open Letter with 500+ signatures to leaders of major UK denominations in London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Leaders from nine Churches - including the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Church of Scotland, the Quakers in Britain and the Methodist Church of Great Britain - have received the letter which is signed by 500+ people and asks for leaders to endorse seven targets, from protecting 30% of Church land for nature by 2030 to restoring 100% of degraded peatland by 2030. Accompanying the letter is a photo book with dozens of stories of local churches already using their land to benefit climate and nature.

To help Churches achieve net zero land emissions by 2030, Operation Noah has also released a trio of resources which include examples of sustainable farming on Church land.

UK Churches own hundreds of thousands of acres of land, with the Church of England one of the largest landowners in England and the Roman Catholic Church one of the largest landowners in the world. Church land includes woodlands and vast tracts of agricultural land leased to farmers which can be a carbon sink or a major source of planet-heating emissions.

Operation Noah is also calling on denominations and dioceses to map where their land is located, how it is being used and which areas are protected, and to have this information publicly available by 2030. Currently, information on where Church-owned land is located - as well as some features of the land, including whether it contains peat - is often unavailable.

Land use emissions are not merely a problem for the Church to grapple with; despite the UK being nearly halfway to reaching its 2050 net zero target, the country's agricultural and land use emissions have remained high, something the UK Government's advisory committee on climate change acknowledged in its 2024 Report to Parliament, writing, 'emissions in the agriculture, land use and waste sectors have shown very little progress'. Indeed, a 2024 report from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showed that agriculture and land use now account for more than 12% of all UK emissions - more than the entire electricity sector.

Operation Noah's Church land use vision and campaign is calling for the following:

Transparency: Denominations and dioceses should be clear about the land they own and how it is used, devising and publishing Land Management Plans with 2030 targets.
Mapping: Maps of denominational and diocesan-owned land indicating land use and protected areas should be publicly available upon request by 2030.
Emissions: Denominations and dioceses should have publicly-accessible plans for reaching net zero emissions on church land by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.
Biodiversity: Over 30% of Church-owned land should be protected for nature by 2030.
Growing Trees: 10% Church-owned land should be planted with suitable trees by 2030 unless other habitat areas designated for nature are demonstrated to be more or equally valuable. New trees should be mainly mixed native varieties supporting biodiversity.
Protecting Peatland: Denominations and dioceses which own peatland should be restoring/rewetting 100% of degraded peatland by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.
Supporting Farm Net Zero: Denominations/dioceses which own agricultural land should support tenants to reach farm net zero by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.

Operation Noah is a Christian charity working to inspire the Church to take action on the climate crisis. In addition to divesting from fossil fuels, Operation Noah encourages Churches and faith groups around the world to invest in climate solutions alongside implementing better land use practices, such as peat restoration and tree growing.

LINK

Operation Noah: www.operationnoah.org/