Moving Toward Net Zero in the Anglican Church of Canada

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A203

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
GENERAL SYNOD 2023
RESOLUTION

Resolution Number: A203

Subject: Moving Toward Net Zero in the Anglican Church of Canada

Moved By:

Seconded By:

Be it resolved that this General Synod:

Encourage the members of the Anglican Church of Canada from coast to coast to coast to live out the 5^th Mark of Mission as well as our Baptismal Covenant.
Encourage all parts of the Church to:
1. Discern prayerfully which meetings most benefit from face-to-face interaction, and with what frequency,
2. Attend to the non-monetary costs of travel, including loss of time, environmental impact, accumulated fatigue and increased stress,
3. Ensure, where possible, that physical meetings are accessible by public transit and “active transit” (bicycles, walking, etc.),
4. Continue to offer ways for people to participate online.
Direct the Council of General Synod to seek to reduce the carbon impact of travel for meetings of General Synod, the Council of General Synod, and its committees, when possible, by offering online or hybrid options and choosing lower-carbon travel as a witness to the rest of the Church, and to report on these efforts regularly and to General Synod 2025.
Direct the Council of General Synod to purchase carbon offsets for such travel as is deemed still to be necessary, using offset initiatives of Indigenous communities where possible.
Encourage Canadian Anglicans, Ecclesiastical Provinces, dioceses and parishes to purchase carbon offsets for their own travel.

Source: Creation Matters Working Group of The Anglican Church of Canada

Submitted By: Public Witness for Social and Ecological Justice Coordinating Committee

Does this motion contain within it any financial implications?

Yes

If yes, has the General Synod Expenditures Committee considered the implications?

Yes No

EXPLANATORY NOTE/BACKGROUND

We give thanks to God that Anglicans have proven their devotion to worship, fellowship, learning and proper governance by learning how to hold many forms of meetings online during the pandemic, and have found new ways of including people with disabilities and the vulnerable in so doing. The environment and our finances (national, diocesan and personal) were all blessed by the decrease in travel of all kinds, local as well as inter-provincial. Most meetings were effective, and creative hosts even found ways of sharing refreshments together and promoting friendships, new and old. Some learning still needs to happen to identify just which kinds of meetings should be in person, and how often any one body should meet physically.

This motion aligns with Resolution A203 passed at General Synod 2019 “The United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development”, reflecting Goal #13: Climate Action and Resolution C003, which encouraged consideration of the purchase of carbon offsets as one action to address climate change.

PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTION

(G)

In the normal course, an ordinary motion must be passed by a majority of the members of General Synod present and voting together.

Six members of General Synod may, prior to the question being put, require a vote by Orders, with a majority of each Order being necessary to pass.

If a question passes on a Vote by Orders, any six members (two from each of three different dioceses) may immediately before the next item of business require a vote to be taken by dioceses. A motion passes if a majority (or a tie) of dioceses vote in favour.

Source: Sections 4 and 5 of the Declaration of Principles and sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Rules of Order and Procedure.

Resolution A203