Operation Noah calls for action to restore nature on Church land

Bee with purple daisies ICN/JS

Source: Operation Noah

UK Churches own hundreds of thousands of acres of land - much of it agricultural land leased to farmers - which could be used to absorb emissions and restore nature; some farmers have also been stopped from making environmental improvements due to impact on land values

21 March 2025: Christian climate charity Operation Noah is calling on UK Churches, which own approximately 1% of UK land, to be more transparent about the land they own as well as to scale up climate action in order to achieve net zero land emissions by 2030.

Operation Noah's Church land use vision, which launches today, includes seven targets - from protecting 30% of land for nature by 2030 to restoring 100% of degraded peatland by 2030. To help Churches achieve net zero land emissions by 2030, Operation Noah is also releasing a trio of resources which include examples of sustainable farming on Church land alongside encouraging Christians to sign a campaign letter to UK Church leaders.

UK Churches own hundreds of thousands of acres of land, with the Church of England one of the largest landowners in England and the Roman Catholic Church one of the largest landowners in the world. Some UK denominations have yet to make public where much of their land is located. Church land includes large woodlands and vast tracts of agricultural land leased to farmers - land which can be either a carbon sink or major source of emissions. However, according to tenant farmers Operation Noah has spoken with, Church of England concerns about the negative impact that some environmental initiatives could have on their land values have stopped farmers from making improvements, such as planting trees on agricultural land.

Author and campaigner Guy Shrubsole has lamented the poor state in which he found some of the 5,000 acres of fenland near Peterborough, which are owned by the Church of England's Church Commissioners; polluted with rubbish, sewage and fertiliser, and largely devoid of animal life, Shrubsole asks: "If even landowners supposedly motivated by moral causes are keeping it in this state, what hope for those motivated solely by profit?"

Today, Operation Noah is also calling on denominations and dioceses to map where their land is located, how it is being used and which areas are protected, and to have this information publicly available by 2030. Currently, information on where Church-owned land is located - as well as some features of the land, including whether it contains peat - is often unavailable.

"Reducing emissions on Church land is hugely important and something which the Church must take seriously, not only as a responsible landowner, but also as a moral community called to care for Creation," said Clare Fussell, Operation Noah's Bright Now Campaign Director. "Our 2022 Church land report concluded that agricultural land owned by the Church of England was likely to emit more planet-heating greenhouse gases than all its church buildings combined."

Agricultural emissions are not merely a problem for the Church to grapple with, however; despite the UK being nearly halfway to reaching its 2050 net zero target, the country's agricultural emissions have remained high, something the UK Government's advisory committee on climate change acknowledged in its 2024 Report to Parliament, writing, 'emissions in the agriculture, land use and waste sectors have shown very little progress'. Indeed, a 2024 report from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showed that agriculture and land use now account for more than 12% of all UK emissions - more than the entire electricity sector.

Operation Noah's Church land use vision and campaign is calling for the following:

- Transparency: Denominations and dioceses should be clear about the land they own and how it is used, devising and publishing Land Management Plans with 2030 targets.

- Mapping: Maps of denominational and diocesan-owned land indicating land use and protected areas should be publicly available upon request by 2030.

- Emissions: Denominations and dioceses should have publicly-accessible plans for reaching net zero emissions on church land by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.

- Biodiversity: Over 30% of Church-owned land should be protected for nature by 2030.

- Growing Trees: 10% Church-owned land should be planted with suitable trees by 2030 unless other habitat areas designated for nature are demonstrated to be more or equally valuable. New trees should be mainly mixed native varieties supporting biodiversity.

- Protecting Peatland: Denominations and dioceses which own peatland should be restoring/rewetting 100% of degraded peatland by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.

- Supporting Farm Net Zero: Denominations/dioceses which own agricultural land should support tenants to reach farm net zero by 2030 or as soon as legally possible.

In support of the new land use vision, Operation Noah will also host a 24 March webinar at 1pm called 'Growing Hope: Church Action for Sustainable Land Use' with contributions from Revd Mike Saunders, whose parish church has planted 7,000 trees in partnership with local landowners and the Woodland Trust; Jaye Brighton, whose food Co-Op is leasing land from the Diocese of Truro; and Revd David Coleman of Eco-Congregation Scotland.

Operation Noah is a Christian charity working to inspire the Church to take action on the climate crisis. In addition to divesting from fossil fuels, Operation Noah encourages Churches around the world to invest in climate solutions alongside implementing better land use practices, such as peat restoration and tree growing.

Learn more at: www.operationnoah.org/