St Mary’s Embsay with Eastby is leading a group of five churches in Craven which are looking into ways to become net carbon zero. This is in line with the commitment made by the General Synod in 2020 that the Church of England should become net carbon zero by 2030.

This Project is supported by a grant from the BEIS funded Rural Community Energy Fund which is managed by the North East Yorkshire and Humber Energy Hub and administered by Tees Valley Combined Authority. This grant will pay for a feasibility study into options for renewable energy generation at the five churches in the group. It will also recommend appropriate funding options. The investigations, to be carried out by a consultant engineer, will take place over the next few months and the Feasibility Report is due in late 2021. The Funding Agreement was signed during the morning service in St Mary’s on 25 April.

The other churches in the group are Burton in Lonsdale, Carleton, Draughton and Holy Trinity Skipton. These churches are a representative selection of buildings and contexts. The group intends that the Feasibility Study should become a model, providing information and data from the case studies, which can be used by other churches and organisations.

We are planning to hold a Climate Sunday project launch and picnic here in Embsay with Eastby on Sunday 27 June at 4pm in the church grounds, at which everyone will be most welcome. Further details to follow but please put this date in your diary!

The group has already started to consult locally and more widely and have received widespread support, both from individuals and organisations. The group is particularly pleased that this study is taking place in the year of COP26, to be hosted in Glasgow in November 2021.

The photo shows the vicar of St Mary’s, Revd Canon Marion Russell, and the Churchwarden Liz Roodhouse, signing the Funding Agreement during the morning service, in the presence of a socially distanced congregation!

Information about the project can be found here: www.stmaryembsay.org.uk/churches-in-craven-carbon-neutral/
or contact the group on: tcncc2021@gmail.com