Bishop of Salisbury joins ECIU Advisory Board

Bishop of Salisbury since 2011, he is the Church of England's lead bishop for Environmental Affairs, chairing the Working Group on the Environment established by the General Synod in February 2014.

He also leads the Church’s Shrinking the Footprint campaign, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of churches nationwide.

ECIU welcomes Bishop Nicholas to its Advisory Board as the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London until his retirement in February, steps down.

“I am delighted to be joining the Advisory Board of ECIU, and hope to build on the excellent foundation left me by my predecessor, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres KCVO, Bishop of London," said the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam.

"ECIU plays a key role in dispassionately gathering hard evidence on the impact of climate change and how best to minimise it in order to inform decision makers and opinion formers.

“Climate change must be a priority for all of us – there is no Planet B. Creation is a gift from God which we have a responsibility to look after. It is not ours to exploit selfishly.

“We are at a strange moment in terms of climate change policy. The Paris Agreement and its swift ratification was one of the most hopeful events in my lifetime. The actions of the current United States administration since it took office have been profoundly disturbing and our own government has sent out rather mixed signals. I look forward to working with the ECIU making the case that action on climate change is necessary and urgent in the care of our common home.”

ECIU Director Richard Black said:

“I’m delighted to welcome the Bishop of Salisbury onto our Advisory Board. Climate change is an issue with many dimensions, and the moral dimension is among the most important. Bishop Nicholas has already proven an inspirational leader in this area, and I’m looking forward to working with him more closely.

“I’m deeply grateful to the Bishop of London for the huge contribution he made to ECIU’s work, and indeed for his long-standing advocacy on climate change as an issue that deserves to be taken seriously. All of us at ECIU wish him well in his retirement.”