As the climate crisis becomes an increasing concern, places of worship need to be ready to provide people with sanctuary during extreme weather events, the Church of England’s environmental working group has said in new guidance.

The recommendations – which outline what is needed to help deal with climate change – were sent to bishops, dioceses and church leadership teams.

The document said local churches should also be prepared to provide support for climate refugees from within and outside of the UK as the impacts of global warming accelerate.

It is is planning to bring a motion to the General Synod in 2020 proposing revised carbon targets for the church that would see it aim for net zero emissions by 2050 – and to move faster where it is possible.

In its guidance, the working group said a programme of action was needed to change heating from oil and gas and focus more on the comfort of church users rather than always aiming to heat the whole space.

Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Show all 18 1 /18 Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Husky dogs pull musher Audun Salte through the town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway. Salte worries that as temperatures warm, climate change could lead to the extinction of all life on Earth. A man who likes kissing and dancing with his dogs, he has 110 of them, is concerned most about the non-humans on the planet. "If climate change should be the end of humanity, I really don't care, but if climate change is the end of any animal species who hasn't contributed anything towards the speeding up of this process, that's why I am reacting," he said. "On the highway, when people slow down to look at a car crash, climate change is like that because everyone is slowing down to look at the accident but not realising that we are actually the car crash." Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A reindeer grazes on land. Since 1970, average annual temperatures have risen by 4 degrees Celsius in Svalbard, with winter temperatures rising more than 7 degrees, according to a report released by the Norwegian Centre for Climate Services in February. Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town The Wahlenberg Glacier in Oscar II land Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Audun Salte prepares his huskies for sledding Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town The town of Longyearbyen in the late evening light Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Husky dogs relax ahead of sledding Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town International director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, Kim Holmen, relaxes with a cup of tea as he travels past the Wahlenberg Glacier. Holmen has lived in the northern Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard for three decades. He describes the changes he's seen as "profound, large and rapid." "We are losing the Svalbard we know. We are losing the Arctic as we know it because of climate change," he said. "This is a forewarning of all the hardship and problems that will spread around the planet." Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A sign warns of the danger from polar bears Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A woman poses next to a polar bear mural in town Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town An iceberg floats near the Wahlenberg Glacier Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Wieslaw Sawicki holds a photograph of his son 44-year-old Michal Sawicki who was killed by an avalanche in Svalbard earlier this year. He worked as a geophysicist at the Polish Polar Research Station in Hornsund on the southern side of Svalbard. The Polish scientist and meteorologist Anna Gorska died when they fell from a mountain in May. Sawicki was an experienced mountaineer, scientist and explorer on his fifth stint for the institute in the Arctic. "Unfortunately, there was a huge snow cornice which looked like it was part of the peak of the mountain," said his father Wieslaw Sawicki, who was visiting Longyearbyen to meet with the governor of the archipelago. "It collapsed with them; they both fell into the abyss." Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Christiane Huebner plays with her dog Svea Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A pile of antlers on a ski sled Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town An aerial view shows snow-covered mountains in Svalbard, Norway, August 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SEARCH "SVALBARD CLIMATE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. HANNAH MCKAY Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town White wooden gravestones at risk of landslides due to the thawing permafrost underneath the ground, stand at the side of a mountain in the Longyearbyen cemetery Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A man looks at rugs for sale in a store in town Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town A miner works inside the Gruve 7 mine, the only remaining operational coal mine on Svalbard Reuters/Hannah McKay Climate change in the world's fastest-warming town Children play at the skatepark in town Reuters/Hannah McKay

The programme would also focus on installing energy efficient lighting, switching to renewable energy, cutting heat loss, and for church properties, where appropriate, to generate their own electricity from renewables.

A key first step will be to measure the carbon footprint across all parts of the Church of England, including churches, housing, schools, farming, forestry, investment portfolios, and offices, the guidance said.

Action has already been taken to divest the church’s investments from the most polluting fossil fuels, and commitments have been made to start to divest in 2020 from companies that are not helping the shift to a low carbon economy.

The Church of England must also protect and enhance nature across its land and buildings, including churchyards and investment assets, the guidance says.

The Bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtam, said: “As Christians and as a church we hope to be good stewards of God’s creation and to care for the environment. We commit to respond to the serious circumstances we face.

“It will need the commitment of everyone in the church to engage strongly with our communities and establish creative policy frameworks that get the best out of people, not just because of anxiety but for the love of this wonderful creation.”