Bishops urge carbon cut for Lent

The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, have joined with aid agency Tearfund to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint.

The call comes as a survey for Tearfund reveals that three out of five adults are willing to take energy-saving action in Lent.

The bishops want people to begin the Carbon Fast by removing a light bulb from a prominent place at home and live without it for the whole of Lent - and then replace it with an energy-saving bulb which will save 60kg of CO2 a year.

The Carbon Fast also involves a simple energy saving action each day, including avoiding plastic bags, giving the dishwasher a day off, insulating the hot water tank and checking the house for drafts and buying draft excluders.

The bishops and Tearfund are launching the Carbon Fast because they say there is an urgent need to cut emissions and protect poor communities who are already being affected by climate change - and will be the worst hit in the future.

The drive is also being backed by church leaders and scientists including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and Sir John Houghton, former chief executive of the Met Office and first chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s scientific assessment.

Bishop Jones, who is vice president of Tearfund, said: "Traditionally people have given things up for Lent. This year we are inviting people to join us in a Carbon Fast.

"It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change. To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching.

"The tragedy is that those with the power to do something about it are least affected, whilst those who are most affected are powerless to bring about change."