The Lord Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, is among 13 peers appointed to a new Lords Select Committee for the environment and climate change.
Bishop Steven is known as a leading advocate of fossil fuel divestment within the Church of England and has previously called for 'nothing less than an ecological conversion of every person and every part of society'.
The new committee for environment and climate change is one of five new sessional committees designed to allow for more effective and comprehensive scrutiny by the House of Lords over major areas of public policy.
"Human beings are far more than consumers: we are called to be just stewards of creation, to care for the poorest and the weakest. Human fulfilment lies not in escalating consumption but in meaningful rest and labour and learning to be content. Many dioceses, including Oxford, are placing care for the earth at the top of our agenda for the coming years. It means identifying challenging but achievable targets and the practical path to reach them. We need to hear the voice of government in policy detail and not just principle," Bishop Steven said in a statement.
"The leadership we offer to the COP summit must be demonstrably grounded in the trinity of policy intervention, technology solutions and the changing lives of our entire population," he added.
Ruth Chambers, senior parliamentary affairs associate at the major coalition of green groups, Greener UK, creation, welcomed the new environment and climate change committee: "Never has there been a better time for House of Lords scrutiny on the environment and this committee is very welcome," she said in a statement.
In March Bishop Steven announced the Diocese of Oxford had completed its divestment from fossil fuels. The Diocese of Oxford declared a climate emergency in March 2020.