General Synod members today missed a landmark opportunity to protect nature, voting to dilute a motion that would have committed the Church Commissioners to protect nature on 30% of their land by 2030. The Church of England’s national assembly instead passed an amendment that highlighted their current environmental efforts and did not include any measurable rewilding targets – making it an outlier amongst top UK landowners.

The original Private Member’s Motion called on the Church Commissioners to restore nature in line with the scale and urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises. Had it passed, the Church Commissioners would have been called on to commit to protect 30% of their land for nature by 2030. Currently, the majority of their 103,000 acres of rural land is used for commercial farming, with only 3,600 acres, just 3.5% of their rural estate, protected.

The motion, which was raised by Reverend Canon Val Plumb earlier this year, had strong support within the Synod. 

Reverend Plumb spoke at the General Synod about the Church’s moral responsibility and religious imperative to take action. Following the vote, she said: “Whilst my original motion was blocked, there was clear agreement that the Church must not just preach Hope for All Creation, but take decisive action that embodies our teachings. Now, the Church Commissioners must deliver on the Christian mission to safeguard the integrity of creation by making an actual measurable commitment to protect nature on their land. As a landowner with a spiritual duty to protect God’s creation, is the Church content to be a laggard whilst others are the leaders?”

Over the last year, pressure has been mounting on the Commissioners to follow suit with other institutional landowners and commit to rewild 30% of the land that they oversee, in line with the United Nations target to which the UK is a signatory. Over 130,000 members of the public have backed campaign group Wild Card’s call to Rewild the Church. Theologians, scientists, conservationists, politicians and campaigners, including Chris Packham, Deborah Meaden, Stephen Fry, Zack Polanski, Rowan Williams and Caroline Lucas have also given their support, along with Christian groups such as Christian Climate Action, Operation Noah and Climate Choir. 

Lead Bishop for the Environment, the Right Reverend Graham Usher, proposed the amendment, which lists six steps that will be taken as an alternative to committing to 30by30. This includes ‘where appropriate, continue to support nature restoration projects’ and ‘engage and collaborate with tenants about sustainable farming.’ The House of Bishops, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, unanimously voted for the amendment and to reject an area-based target. 

Wild Card Campaigner Claire Rogers said: “Unfortunately, the Synod missed the opportunity to show moral leadership and set a clear, measurable area-based target to protect nature on Church land. At a time when wildlife is collapsing in our countryside, we need much greater action than has been committed to today. Over 190 countries, including our own, committed to 30×30 for a reason – they can’t all be wrong. 

“The Commissioners must still heed the call of 130,000 members of the public, including many within the church community, along with Synod members, theologians, scientists and conservationists who all called on the Church to take decisive action. Not just to match other landowners already working toward the Government’s 30by30 target, but to fulfil their moral obligation as one of the wealthiest and most land-rich institutions in the country. The fight for nature continues, and so must their leadership.”

Today’s decision follows the publication of an independent legal opinion by leading ecclesiastical lawyer Mark Hill KC, that found that the Church Commissioners face no legal barriers to adopting 30by30 nature restoration targets, directly challenging their claim that fiduciary duties prevent them from doing so. The analysis found that the Church Commissioners are legally free and morally compelled to act to protect and restore biodiversity, yet lag behind other large landowners. 

Other top landowners in the Government’s National Estate for Nature Group (NENG) have set measurable targets to protect nature, these include Crown Estate (36% managed for nature by 2030 comprising 15% farmland and 21% Priority Habitats); the National Trust (70% managed for nature by 2030), Duchy of Cornwall (46% under Landscape Recovery schemes); the Government’s Public Estate (37% already protected); Clinton Devon Estate: 30% by 2030.

Yesterday the government published its 30by30 delivery route map in which it states of NENG: “We have asked members to start this process by screening their estates to highlight current and potential contributions to 30by30. We will continue working with members to champion greater collaboration across their estates and beyond.”

The General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England, tasked with considering and approving legislation affecting the whole of the Church of England, debating matters of national and international importance, and approving the annual budget for the work of the Church at national level.

Britain ranks in the bottom 10% of nations globally for biodiversity. Given that half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, the country’s top land owners, like the Church of England, must act if the country is to meet vital biodiversity targets.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information contact: Heather Carswell: press@wildcard.land

NOTES TO EDITORS

Further details about the Rewild the Church campaign can be found here.

ABOUT WILD CARD

Wild Card is a citizens’ movement campaigning for the UK’s biggest landowners to urgently rewild their lands in response to the climate and nature emergency. With over 250,000 people supporting their campaigns to date they have already claimed successes in persuading the royal estates and other landowners to begin ambitious nature restoration schemes.www.wildcard.land 

The Rewild the Church campaign has been gaining momentum, with support from over 130,000 members of the public, alongside theologians, scientists, conservationists, politicians and broadcasters who are urging the Church to respond more decisively to the biodiversity crisis. An open letter backed by nearly 50 high profile individuals and organisations, including Stephen Fry, Zack Polanski, Rowan Williams and Caroline Lucas has been shared with the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, asking her to lead the Church of England in committing to protecting nature on 30% of their vast estate.  Protecting 30% of Church land is also a key demand of Christian environmental organisations such as Operation Noah and Christian Climate Action.