The spiritual head of the 77-million member worldwide Anglican Communion, Dr Rowan Williams, received an award last week from parliamentarians for his work on promoting environmentally friendly causes.

|PIC1|The Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRESAG) acknowledged the Archbishop of Canterbury's contributions and gave recognition to the work that the Church of England is doing to promote sustainable energy issues to the public and to policy makers.

The award was accepted by the Church of England's lead policy officer on environmental matters, Claire Foster, on behalf of Dr Williams, who is currently on sabatical.

According to Episcopal Life Online (ELO), Foster gave testimony to the Archbishop's influence, saying that his leadership had clearly had an impact.

She said "It was a great privilege to receive the Archbishop's award on his behalf. It is a recognition that moral and spiritual leadership are needed to face the challenge of global warming, and that the Archbishop offers this. He speaks truth to power: is power listening?"

A Lambeth Palace spokesperson also told ELO that the award recognised the importance of the issue for the faith communities. The spokesperson said: "The Church of England has made climate change and environmental sustainability central issues in recent years, at home and overseas.

"This award for the Archbishop of Canterbury from PRESAG members is a timely recognition of the central role people of faith have in providing for the responsible stewardship of our planet.

"The ethical aspect of the challenge of climate change is increasingly recognised, and in choosing to confer this award on the Archbishop, PRESAG acknowledges just how important moral and spiritual leadership on environmental matters continues to be."

PRESAG brings together politicians from across the parties and senior industry stakeholders to promote sustainable energy issues in Parliament and the wider political community.

The Church of England is currently promoting a national campaign called Shrinking the Footprint. Spearheading the campaign, Dr Williams has said: "For the Church of the 21st Century, good ecology is not an optional extra but a matter of justice. It is therefore central to what it means to be a Christian."

For more information on this please visit: www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org