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The Archbishop of Wales and other Church in Wales bishops are among church leaders calling for the UK Chancellor to use his Spring Statement and energy security strategy this week (March 23) to tackle the climate emergency, address the cost of living crisis and stop all new fossil fuel developments.The letter, signed by more than 50 Anglican and Catholic bishops, says, “We call on you to use the Spring Statement to provide financial and fiscal support for renewable energy and energy efficiency, especially solar and wind energy and the retrofitting of homes and other buildings across the UK. These measures would reduce heating bills, decrease carbon emissions and increase our energy security.”Church leaders are urging the Government to implement a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies in order to address the cost of living crisis and to stop all new oil and gas developments. They write, “The Spring Statement must include no support for new oil and gas developments. The International Energy Agency has stated that there can be no new fossil fuel developments if we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C. New oil and gas production will not deliver lower energy bills for families facing fuel poverty and will have no impact on energy supply for years.“We urge you to increase support for vulnerable households across the UK facing a cost of living crisis as a result of increasing food and energy prices, through measures including a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.”The open letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor also notes that many churches, including the Church in Wales, have set a 2030 target for reducing emissions to net zero, writing that churches are “taking action to decarbonise our buildings, including through the installation of solar panels, heat pumps and other energy efficiency measures. More than 2,000 churches across the UK participated in Climate Sunday ahead of COP26 and called on the UK Government to unleash a clean energy revolution and limit global heating to 1.5°C.”Supporting the open letter from church leaders are a number of charities, including Operation Noah, Christian Aid, CAFOD, A Rocha and Tearfund.More information