The Church of England must face the cold reality of its net zero drive

Telegraph

14-04-2025

SIR – Janet Eastham and Natasha Leake once again highlight the damaging effects of the Church of England's net zero policy (report, April 12).
Listed churches with shrinking congregations are being pressured into installing unaffordable and often unsuitable heat pumps and under-pew heaters. These may be fine for a small building with reasonable insulation, but a typical Norman or Victorian church with high ceilings and lots of stained glass windows will often require the power of an oil or gas boiler, along with fan radiators, if it is to be heated to a comfortable standard.
General Synod passed the net zero rules, leaving parish administrators with little choice but to comply. It would be interesting, however, if the Church dared to commission a survey to see what its general membership thinks of this policy.
Ian Graham
Carlisle, Cumbria
SIR – Thanks to a bequest, our church – which holds 300 people – has been able to scrap its 100-year-old oil boiler and install under-pew electric heating. This cost £20,000 (after VAT recovery). The new devices provide controllable heat directly where it is needed, to the great satisfaction of the congregation.
It would really make sense for the central Church to provide grants for this purpose – alongside those already available – to churches less fortunate than mine, while dropping its foolish insistence on trying to make all these ancient buildings green.
The £100 million that has been set aside for slavery reparations could certainly help.
Donald R Clarke
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
SIR – I am a churchwarden at a large, Grade I listed church in the Bristol diocese, a mere four miles from the church at Acton Turville mentioned in your article.
We spent about £50,000 on an electric chandelier and ancillary heaters last year (under-pew heaters would not have been efficient). Although funding is always a problem for rural parishes, we were fortunate to have received a legacy. We were also able to get a grant from the National Churches Trust.
Most importantly, however, we have a very supportive diocese advisory committee, which understood our needs and was keen to help. In my experience this is key when carrying out work on a parish church.
Paul White
Marshfield, Wiltshire
SIR – I was saddened to read of the heating problems at the parish church of Chislet, Kent. The village had a working coal mine until 1969 (part of the now largely forgotten Kent mining area). This was abandoned when steam railways came to an end – with untapped reserves of coal still there.
Mark Robbins
Bruton, Somerset