Patrick Watt, Director of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Christian Aid, explained Christian Aid will “never shrink away from campaigning with others for climate justice” and will continue to “match our words with action and encourage others to join us.”
Christian Aid has measured and managed its greenhouse gas emissions for the last decade, and between April 2011 and March 2020 both the total carbon footprint and carbon intensity was reduced by more than half.
The charity’s report explains this was in part due to the success of their first decarbonisation plan, launched in 2017/2018, that changed ways of working, including greater use of renewable energy, less printing, and more use of teleconferencing.
Christian Aid has now set new targets of a 40% reduction in emissions from a 2019/20 baseline by 2023/24 and at least a 50% reduction by 2029/30. This is in line with 2018 IPCC targets identified as necessary to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
As part of this plan, Christian Aid has agreed to minimise the post-pandemic flights bounce-back to no more than 50% of pre-pandemic levels alongside further reductions in printing footprint and greater use of local renewably-generated energy in offices.
Patrick Watt, Director of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Christian Aid, said:
“The poorest people, who’ve contributed least to the climate crisis, are first and worst affected. It doesn't need to be this way.
“At Christian Aid, we recognise that the decisions we make as individuals, and as an organisation, affect the climate and generations to come.
“I am proud we have reduced our total carbon footprint and carbon intensity by more than half over the last decade. However, with the planet still warming, there is much more to do.
“Christian Aid will never shrink away from campaigning with others for climate justice, and calling for decisive action by governments, businesses and individuals to act.
“With a plan to halve the organisation's emissions by the end of the decade, we continue to match our words with action and encourage others to join us.”
ENDS.
Notes to editors:
Christian Aid’s Carbon footprint:
Christian Aid took important steps in 2017/18 to reduce its climate impacts, as part of a 5-year decarbonisation plan that introduced changes to ways of working, including greater use of renewable energy, less printing, and more use of teleconferencing.
The baseline dropped significantly in 19/20 and then even more dramatically in 20/21, largely as a result of a dramatic fall in travel and reduced office use caused by the pandemic, and by the organisational restructure.
While the size of the organisation has fluctuated across the timeline, analysis of our flights and overall emissions demonstrates real progress in reducing the carbon intensity of our work. This has been influenced in part by a reduction of approximately 75% since 2011/12 in km flown per £ of spend.
Projection 1: Possible carbon footprint levels if Christian Aid returns to 2019/20 levels of activity in 2024/25, but with fewer permanent locations and “passive” carbon reductions from wider society. Graph shows tCO2e as a percentage compared with a 2019/20 baseline.
2030 Targets and the decarbonization plan
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Phase 1: Reduce emissions by 40% by 23/24 to create a new ‘managed’ low-carbon normal |
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Key focus areas
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Phase 2: Assess options for further operational carbon reductions with the aim of reaching at least a 50% reduction by 29/30. Agree approach to ‘off-setting’ our core residual carbon footprint though positive investment |
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Key focus areas
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The focus areas in phase 1 allow for some flexibility, for example if reaching the full 20% reduction in our printing footprint directly conflicts with our ability to fundraise, there is scope within the other focus areas to still enable us to reach the 40% reduction.
Christian Aid also recognises that within this overall strategy, the starting points for regions and countries will differ, as will the opportunities to make further reductions in our footprint. Through the implementation plan the charity will work with country and programme managers to ensure that de-carbonisation measures are applied at an appropriate pace (e.g. maximising the opportunities created by the falling prices of solar).
Projection 2: Possible carbon footprint levels if Christian Aid returns to 2019/20 levels of activity in 2024/25 while implementing the reduction strategy above. Graph shows tCO2e as a percentage compared with a 2019/20 baseline.
