Because nearly every resolution related to creation care and environmental racism came to the Convention via consent calendar, such work in Baltimore risks going unrecognized. There is much more we must do, and our polity still fails to meet climate challenges with appropriate levels of emergency fervor. This is exactly why we must elevate our current work: the better you understand the resolutions passed at this convention, the more equipped you will be to bring your local context into full participation. Then in Louisville we can more powerfully ask, “what, Lord, will you have us do next?”
D064: Endorse and Encourage Green Deal Legislation
Funding request: none
Resolution D064 was proposed entirely by Episcopal leaders aged 35 and under. Despite what a cursory title read might lead one to assume, this resolution includes powerful action items in addition to endorsement. Most notably the addition of a “question to the Parochial Report regarding how each parish is reducing their carbon footprint and to share those results as a whole with the Episcopal Church.”
It also opens a conversation about “adding portions relating to environmental stewardship in the Canons of the Episcopal Church” and resolves “that this Convention transmit a message to each diocese of The Episcopal Church with a copy of this resolution before each Diocesan Convention following the 80th General Convention.”
D064 is a creative example of actions General Convention can take to prioritize creation care within the very bones of our governance. Conversations related to budget allocations may miss these highly impactful, low cost solutions.
A020: Support Decade of Action to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals
Funding request: none
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a UN-created framework adopted in 2015 to coordinate organizations across the globe in building a sustainable future. In the Episcopal Church, the SDGs provide a framework for approaching the Church’s call to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development.
The SDGs are worth naming; each is connected to the Gospel and our mission:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health and Well-being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Affordable and Clean Energy
- Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequality
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
- Life Below Water
- Life on Land
- Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
- Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Resolution A020 “encourage[s] all parishes, dioceses, and jurisdictions” to not only learn about and teach these goals, but to undertake “self-audits to assess how their existing mission work and ministries already address the SDGs.”
A087: Net Carbon Neutrality by 2030
Funding request: $70,000 from existing travel funds plus $75,000
As its title indicated, A087 sets for the Episcopal Church a “goal of net carbon neutrality in its operations and the work of staff, standing commissions, interim bodies, and General Convention by 2030,” in line with the UN’s Decade of Action on the SDGs. It also encourages “parishes, dioceses, schools, camps, and other Episcopal institutions to pursue their own goal of net carbon neutrality by 2030.”
The resolution is dense and includes a variety of material calls to action in pursuit of net carbon neutrality, and the Herald commends the full text to anyone interested in learning more.
One amendment is worth highlighting. At the resolution’s Legislative Hearing, Bishops Bascom (Kansas) and Lattime (Alaska) collaborated on additional language regarding land use. First, the amendment “request[s] the diocesan bishops of every diocese to begin to build networks of landowners and creation trustees in each diocese who will devote portions of their land [to various sustainability projects].” Second, that “The Episcopal Church support and advocate for the subsistence rights of Indigenous people and policies that protect and preserve land and resources solely for subsistence use.”
The move to network not only institutional resources but our personal resources in creation care ministry is an exciting step in stewardship. Furthermore, empowering Indigenous communities to steward their land autonomously is a basic step for which to advocate. When many in the Episcopal Church approach creation care for the first time, it can feel overwhelming and uncharted. Indigneous communities have been doing theological and material work in this area for countless years, and it is vital to center our church’s work in their expertise.
A088: Commit to the Pressing Work of Addressing Global Climate Change and Environmental Justice
Funding request: none
Resolution A088 is a stirring call to urgent action. It provides an overview of past General Convention legislation supporting environmental stewardship and describes the intersectional implications of serving God in this ministry area. This resolution supports the continued ministry of the Episcopal Church’s Delegation to the UN Conference of Parties, COP. It also directs our advocacy arms to fight for legislation that materially aids frontline communities dealing with climate change and mitigation.
C015: Carbon Sequestration – Creates An Internal Carbon Offset Program
Funding request: none
Resolution C015 is a partner resolution with A087 that provides specific guidance on the establishment of an internal carbon offset program. Carbon offset programs at large are understandably controversial: the assets traded in many programs are impossible to track, and many carbon offsets, when purchased, do not come to fruition. This is precisely why C015 is central to achieving net carbon neutrality in the Episcopal Church by 2030. An internal offset program would be thoroughly vetted and ethically allocated.
“Church geeks” will be excited to follow this legislation to the upcoming Lambeth Conference as well, where the Communion Forest initiative will be launched. C015 announces our support of this initiative.
C016: Climate Change – Carbon-Intensive Lending
Funding request: “authorizing reasonable costs to be treated as investment management expenses.”
Resolution C016 is for the finance wonks. It “directs the Executive Council (Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society aka DFMS) and its Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR), in conjunction with the Church Pension Fund (CPF), to establish and coordinate shareholder strategy addressing Carbon-Intensive Lending by U.S. Banks and other financial lending institutions.” This is not a divestment resolution; rather, it is a call to coordinate shareholder activism.
D027: Encouraging Utilization of Virtual Governance Options for Creation Care
Funding request: none
Resolution D027 urges all levels of governance in our church to consider not only the financial but the environmental costs of travel for business. It expresses a sense that “Governance meetings and other administrative gatherings of the Church should be held virtually if substantial travel is required, unless there is good cause to hold such meetings or gatherings in person.” Church conference leaders take note! Virtual gatherings should not become a mere vestige of pandemic-era organization, for the sake of stewardship and to increase accessibility for those who cannot travel.
A160: Study of Environmental Impact of and Guidance for Investing in Cryptocurrencies
Funding request: none
Resolution A160 is straightforward and potentially impactful depending upon the future of cryptocurrencies in our future economy. It acknowledges that “there is a significant environmental impact caused by the creation, maintenance, and transfer of cryptocurrencies” and calls upon the Investment Committee of the Executive Council to study and give guidance on the ethicality of investing in cryptocurrencies.
The Episcopal Herald 