Synod resolutions

UCA Assembly Environmental Statements and Resolutions

The Uniting Church in Australia’s long commitment to the environment and climate change are reflected in the many statements and resolutions on these topics, right from the foundation of the church…

For example – our foundational document, Basis of Union, says:

“The Church as the fellowship of the Holy Spirit confesses Jesus as Lord over its own life; it also confesses that Jesus is Head over all things, the beginning of a new creation, of a new humanity. God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church’s call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself.” Paragraph 3

Net Zero Emissions Steering Group

A Working Group was established by the Assembly Standing Committee as part of Assembly
Resolution 32 (see Appendix 1) which was affirmed at the 16th Assembly in May 2022. The relevant
paragraph is Part 7 of the Resolution, with the key tasks required being:

1. Gather data on commitments to greenhouse gas emission reduction made across the life of the
church, and progress towards those commitments.

2. Share stories, expertise and learnings on effective strategies and resources to reduce emissions,
prioritising the wisdom of First Peoples.

3. Consider how the whole of the church can move together to net zero emissions by 2040

During 2023, in view of the complexity of the task, the Assembly Standing Committee changed the
title of the group to “Steering Group” and requested the Steering Group to “Further define the tasks
required to undertake the project, and to empower the Steering Group to find and facilitate further
volunteers as required in order to achieve the project goals.”

Synod of NSW/ACT Environmental Resolutions

SYNOD CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION STRATEGY

July 2019

Resolved 106/19S

That the Synod

(i) Develops a Synod-wide Climate Action Strategy to reduce carbon emissions across all councils and agencies of the Church and to advocate to the Federal, State Governments and Local Councils to take decisive steps to reduce our emissions nationally.

(ii) Supports initiatives taken by young people in advocating for action on climate change, including the global climate strikes.