The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued an appeal to churches to pray and act for the environment ahead of key UN talks on climate change later this year.
Dr Rowan Williams is urging churches to use Environment Sunday on June 7 as an opportunity to pray for the planet and campaign for climate change to ensure that the best deal is reached by government leaders at the Copenhagen summit.
"Whilst it will be for governments meeting in Copenhagen in December to agree a successor to the Kyoto regime for global reductions in carbon emissions - and we all want those to be both ambitious and deliverable - we have a part to play,” he said.
“Governments need to know that people want them to be ambitious. They need a mandate.”
The Archbishop said that climate change was “probably” the most important issue the world is facing today and stressed that it was a matter of justice as well as caring for the environment.
He said: “As usual the poorest are likely to suffer the most though the richest have contributed most to pollute the atmosphere and accelerate global warming.
“So we can pray that a proper sense of responsibility (not least to the generations who will follow us) and of justice guides the hearts and the minds of the politicians who will meet in Copenhagen.”
The Archbishop urged Christians to get involved with events and campaigns taking place between now and December. He plans to be in Copenhagen to support last minute campaigns for a suitable deal to emerge from the talks.
