by Janet Eastham, Telegraph
Commitment to cut carbon emissions leaves rural churches out in the cold, Telegraph investigation finds
Net zero targets are killing off the Church of England, clergy and wardens have warned.
Access to new oil or gas boilers has been restricted under a Church of England commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
A Telegraph investigation can reveal that the policy has left dozens of churches in the cold for months on end, with rural churches bearing the brunt of the policy.
Priests and wardens have warned that the green energy drive is putting parishioners’ health at risk, driving down church attendance and causing damp to rot historic buildings.
The Grade I-listed St John the Baptist Church in the village of Tideswell, Derbyshire, has been without heating for 18 months.
Mike Burrell, the assistant churchwarden, said: “You have to come to the conclusion that the Church of England is almost deliberately killing rural churches.”
Peter Robinson, his fellow warden, agreed, saying the target amounted to “a process of killing” the church.
Read also: The Church of England is failing its parishioners in its net zero drive (Letters to the Editor, Telegraph)
