|PIC1|In the report, Eco-Congregation Scotland suggests measures that can help congregations can manage, monitor and reduce their energy consumption, like insulating hot water pipes and recycling materials.

The report comes after the May meeting of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, in which ministers instructed every congregation to reduce their carbon footprints by five per cent each year.

The Rev Ewan Aitken, Church and Society Council secretary and convener of Eco-Congregation Scotland, was optimistic that the report would help churches tackle global warming.

“The Church of Scotland believes congregations can be the catalyst for change in countries in the fight against global warming by actions as well as words,” he said.

“This tool is one more step along that journey.”

Eco-Congregation Scotland will launch the report, ‘Climate Change: Managing Your Carbon Footprint’, at St Andrew’s and St George’s Church in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

The Climate Change Scotland Act passed this year aims to reduce Scotland’s carbon emissions by 42 per cent by 2020.

“Meeting the ambitious targets set by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act will be a challenge, and it will require all of us to work together – so I applaud this excellent work with congregations as a helpful part of that effort,” said Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Climate Change, who will speak at the launch.

“The Eco-congregations initiative enthuses communities across Scotland to save energy in their churches and their homes and help tackle climate change.”