Anglican churches are being called to restore and protect oceans, as this year’s priority in the ‘Lungs of the Earth’ campaign. A new resource pack for 2026 invites churches to stand with coastal communities around the globe, amplify their voices in tackling environmental crisis and take action to restore waterways in their settings.

The 2026 call to protect oceans as a vital ecosystem and ‘lung of the earth’ will be shared by an Anglican delegation attending COP17 (the UN Biodiversity Conference) in Yerevan, Armeni during October. Led by the Rt Revd Graham Usher (Church of England Lead Bishop for the Environment), the delegation includes representatives of Anglican Provinces including The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Anglican Church of Sri Lanka.

COP17 this year will mark the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed in 2022, which set 23 targets for 2030 – including protecting 30 per cent of the world's land and sea. A draft of the review shows the ocean lagging behind: only 8.4 per cent of marine and coastal areas are protected or conserved, compared with 17.6 per cent of land and inland waters.

‘When one lung is damaged, we all struggle to breathe’

A central message of this year’s campaign is that when ‘one lung is damaged, we all struggle to breathe’. The campaign pack describes the role that oceans play in producing around half the oxygen we breathe and the stark reality that oceans are damaged and need protection. A staggering 84 per cent of the world’s reefs – or ‘lungs’ – were hit be bleaching-level heat stress between 2023-2024.

The campaign is built around three priorities: relationship, restoration and resilience. Through relationship, Anglican churches – present in more than 165 countries - can work together, share learning and strengthen one another's advocacy in the face of environmental crisis. Through restoration, churches and communities can help recover damaged places, from beach and river clean-ups to mangrove planting. Through building resilience, they can help communities prepare before disaster strikes, rather than only responding afterwards.

The ocean is a bridge not a boundary

The Lungs of the Earth campaign is facilitated by the Anglican Communion Office, and developed in consultation with environmental advocates across the Communion, particularly Indigenous Anglicans. Case studies in the pack seek to share how the wisdom, traditions and sustainable practice of Indigenous peoples in the face of environmental crisis has much to teach the world about caring for the earth.

The 2026 campaign pack highlights different churches across the Communion, and how they are responding to environmental crisis in their setting. The Sails of Hope initiative from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia saw local churches and youth volunteers make a voyage to raise awareness for indigenous wisdom in caring for the ocean, its importance to life and subsistence in the region, and island-peoples’ rich history of navigating major change. A plastics restoration project from Malawi also features, demonstrating the importance of plastic clean-ups to protect water ways and oceans around the world.

Church Response – Living out the Fifth Mark of Mission

Tying in with the Fifth Mark of Mission ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’ Lungs of the Earth recognises that many Anglican churches are already active in creation-care activities. The campaign invites Anglicans to strengthen their action and advocacy by working together. Ideas include:

• Building relationships with a coastal parish or diocese through a companion link, an Anglican mission agency or the Anglican Alliance.
  
  
• Restoration projects for example beach, river or canal clean ups, or cutting single-use plastic.
  
  
• Advocacy Amplifying the advocacy of Anglicans on the front line of ocean damage, or lobbying national and local government leaders about their role in protecting oceans.

The campaign also encourages Anglican churches to get involved in the Communion Forest, which was launched in 2022, following the Lambeth Conference day on Environment and Sustainable Development. Four years on, the initiative has seen widespread adoption around the Communion, with many reforestation and tree planting initiatives having an impact in both land-locked and coastal areas.

Speaking about the importance of the lungs of the earth campaign

Martha Jarvis, the Anglican Communion’s Special Representative to the United Nations, said: 'The stories of impact and resilience we hear from around the Communion can motivate and guide our advocacy. In response to the worst ocean damage and extreme weather events, our brothers and sisters act daily from their hope that Jesus is reconciling all things. That leads them to strengthen relationships across communities, to build resilience in the face of disaster or despair, and to advocate for justice in how we use our resources globally. Wherever we have influence, we can share these stories to inspire more action to protect and restore the lungs of the earth'.

Download the 2026 Lungs of the Earth pack and find out more.

Churches are encouraged to share photos, reels and stories of how they are restoring and protecting oceans by emailing [email protected] with 'Lungs of the Earth' in the subject line.

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