The Climate Justice Fund is a web based tool that enables individuals, parishes, and dioceses here in the UK to calculate their own carbon footprint and pay compensation for anything over their fair share. This money will then be used to finance Church based adaptation projects from around the Anglican Communion so providing local communities with an opportunity to develop their own response to climate change.
About the Climate Justice Fund website
Resources supporting the Climate Justice Fund can be found online at www.climatejusticefund.org.uk (available soon...). The website provides a host of useful resources such as climate related prayer material, campaign action and policy papers and regular stories from partner churches. It also carries downloadable materials such as posters and power point presentations for use within house groups and churches. The website includes the carbon calculator and methods of giving in a safe and secure manner, on-line and off.
Why are we launching the Climate Justice Fund?
Climate change affects all of us, but it is the world’s poor - those who contributed least to the problem and those who have the least capacity to adapt - who are already suffering its devastating impact. Climate change threatens to push many communities still further into poverty. Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim with their own meagre resources in the face of the threat posed by climate change is clearly morally unacceptable. That is why at its heart, climate change is an issue of justice and that is why the General Synod agreed in July 2008 to the creation of the Climate Justice Fund.
Why are we launching the Climate Justice Fund now?
With important climate change negotiations taking place in Copenhagen in December 2009, the Climate Justice Fund provides an opportunity for the Church at all levels to press governments to secure a new climate change treaty which is genuinely good news for the world’s poor. Research undertaken as part of the re-launch of Shrinking the Footprint, clearly illustrates people’s understanding that responding to the climate challenge requires both changes in lifestyle and also financial compensation to those most affected.
How does the Climate Justice Fund relate to Shrinking the Footprint?
The Climate Justice Fund is being launched under the umbrella of the Shrinking the Footprint, the Church of England’s national environment campaign. Shrinking the Footprint sets out a carbon reduction pathway, consisting of six steps, to help us reduce the Church’s institutional carbon footprint. Step Five relates to the Climate Justice Fund- important though mitigation is, our actions can’t begin and end there. We have a responsibility to protect and assist those vulnerable communities that are already experiencing the devastating impacts of a changing climate. The Climate Justice Fund is open to all individuals, parishes and dioceses regardless of whether they are party to Shrinking the Footprint, or where they are on the Shrinking the Footprint pathway.
How will my money be used?
In the first instance your money will support three Anglican Church projects in Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo that help poor communities respond quickly and effectively to the challenges of climate change. From provision of fresh water and drought-resistant seeds to training workshops on the most effective ways to adapt to the impacts of climate change, your active support will help transform the lives of people who need it most.
What guarantees are there that my money will be used to finance climate specific projects?
All financial matters regarding the Climate Justice Fund will be managed by Tearfund, one of the UK’s leading relief and development agencies, committed to working in partnership with churches around the world to tackle the causes and effects of poverty. Drawing on over 40 years of practice and expertise, Tearfund will ensure that your money is spent well. As one of the first agencies to be involved in the field of adaptation, Tearfund has developed rigorous criteria against which it has tested the climate effectiveness and sustainability of the three Anglican climate projects.
Why is Tearfund involved in this initiative? What is the nature of their involvement?
The Climate Justice Fund is the Church of England’s National Environmental Fund managed by Tearfund. Tearfund has assisted us in setting up the website and in helping us to find suitable climate projects from around the Anglican Communion. The Climate Justice Fund is a partnership of equals. Tearfund will ensure that your money is used solely for its intended purposes. It will provide regular reports from partners as to how your money is assisting them to respond to the challenges of climate change.
Why is the Fund only supporting three Anglican partners?
Sustainable development involves building long term partnerships that deliver real and lasting change. As the Climate Justice Fund captures peoples’ imaginations, so we expect the size of the fund to grow. When that occurs, the Climate Justice Fund will be better positioned to support a range of climate projects that better reflects the richness and diversity of our relationships across the Anglican Communion.
How does the Climate Justice Fund relate to our work with our diocesan links?
The Climate Justice Fund represents a national Church response to a problem that is a pressing reality for many parts of the Anglican Communion. It is a way of ensuring that the Church’s calls for a just agreement in Copenhagen are more than mere words. Through its economy of scale, it provides a very cost effective solution for all concerned. Some dioceses might wish at some point to support adaptation in their companion links. The experiences provided by the Climate Justice Fund would be of use to diocesan links which are beginning to think about these issues. In the long term, when the Climate Justice Fund becomes well established, it may also be possible for dioceses to propose projects which would meet the criteria for effectiveness and sustainability for participation in the Climate Justice Fund.
How does this Fund differ from offsetting?
Offsetting is popular because it makes people feel better about taking long haul flights or driving gas-guzzling vehicles. But, offsetting doesn’t undo the damage done by carbon pollution. By launching this initiative under the umbrella of Shrinking the Footprint, mitigation and adaptation are shown to be two sides of the same coin. Taking recognisable and measurable steps to reduce your footprint should over time lead to a reduction in the amount of money you need to pay compensation for. This is why the Climate Justice Fund website has practical suggestions for reducing your emissions and advice on how you can take part in the wider Shrinking the Footprint campaign.
When and how will the Climate Justice Fund be launched?
The Climate Justice Fund will be launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace on 7th September 2009. It will then be taken up by the College of Bishops when bishops meet the following week. With this corporate leadership and ownership, we aim to work with and through the various diocesan networks to promote the Climate Justice Fund. Climate justice will be central to our advocacy and campaign strategy as we engage with the UN conference on climate change taking pace in Copenhagen in December 2009. We will use publicity surrounding these negotiations to raise awareness of the Climate Justice Fund, and at the same time use the Climate Justice Fund to draw the Church into the debate on Copenhagen.
How can I help support and promote the Climate Justice Fund in my parish and diocese?
The Climate Justice Fund is an entirely voluntary initiative. We hope however that you will incorporate it into your diocesan environmental or world development strategy and promote it through the normal channels of communication. This might mean having a link from your own diocesan website through to the Climate Justice Fund’s website or providing regular coverage from the three chosen Anglican partners in your diocesan or parish newsletter. For those parishes and dioceses that are mobilising around the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009, the website should become your first port of call on advocacy and campaigning. Individuals can also support and participate in the Climate Justice Fund.
How can I find out more about the Climate Justice Fund
For further information about the Climate Justice Fund, please contact Charles Reed the International Development Secretary for the Archbishops’ Council by email on [email protected].