Weekly Action - 4 September 2023 - Climate Momentum
Climate momentum
A number of key international meetings are taking place this month, and high on the agenda for all of them will be dramatically scaling up action on climate change. The governments of Africa will be meeting this week for the Nairobi Climate Action Conference from Monday 4 – Friday 8 September. This Tuesday 5 September all the governments of the world will gather in New York when the annual UN General Assembly begins. Later in the month on Wednesday 20 September, the UN Secretary General will host a specific Climate Action Summit. This month also sees the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit on Tuesday 19 – Wednesday 20 September, when the world will take stock on progress towards the SDGs, a set of commitments made in 2015 to reduce poverty and care for the environment. In all these gatherings, a major focus will be on significantly scaling up action on climate change. This is crucial to build momentum for progress before the next set of UN climate negotiations in Dubai in December.
And there is a desperate need to scale up action on climate change. Nura, a friend of Arise from Bangladesh, has seen six homes lost to rising sea levels as a result of climate change. She now lives in a very poor community on a thin strip of land trapped between commercial shrimp farms and a rising sea, protected by vulnerable flood defences. In recent years the impacts of climate change have included heatwaves, droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, landslides, massive polar melting, the melting of the world’s glaciers, sea-level rise, the devastation of coral systems, mass food and fresh water shortages, ill health, huge negative economic impacts, conflicts over scarce resources, the creation of huge numbers of climate refugees, and much more. The last year has seen a massive and tragic food crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, record temperatures in the UK, and much of Europe, the US and the northern hemisphere and devastating floods in Pakistan, New Zealand, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all as a result of global climate change. It is developing countries in particular, like Bangladesh, DR Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Pakistan, whose greenhouse gas emissions are a fraction of those of more developed nations, that have done the least to cause climate change, but are being hit the hardest by it.
As Christians what should we do about it?
As Christians we know we are called to care for God’s amazing creation, as the Psalms tell us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24: 1). We therefore need to urgently get out of fossil fuels which are driving global climate change, and instead shift to 100% clean renewable energy, which does not lead to climate change, and is cheaper as well. Arise’s 4 Shifts Campaign calls for a rewiring of our global economy to be green and fair, so it still creates the jobs and wealth that lift people out of poverty, but does so without relying on fossil fuels and overconsumption which is wrecking our planet.
Will you take action as part of Arise’s 4 Shifts campaign this week to urgently shift to a clean energy economy?
Take Action
Speak out in advocacy
Write to Claire Coutinho MP, the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in your own words to ask the UK to play a leading role in dramatically scaling up momentum on climate action.
- Urge the UK government to call for a strengthening of the global Paris Agreement on climate change to shift to zero emissions and 100% clean renewable energy, and ban the use of fossil fuels in every nation by 2030.
- Urge the UK to pass national legislation to bring this into effect in the UK, and implement it in every sector (energy, transport, buildings, industry etc.)
You can write to her at:
Claire Coutinho MP
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET
Pray
Pray for people around the world who are currently being hit by the impacts of climate change. Pray for protection, that their basic needs will be met, and that their societies can adapt to a changing climate. Pray for action from the UK and other governments to rapidly shift their economies out of fossil fuels and into 100% clean renewable energy and ban the use of fossil fuels by 2030.
Give
Give to Christian organisations like Christian Aid, Cafod, Tearfund or World Vision who are supporting the poorest communities impacted by climate change around the world.
Practical Action
Conduct a mini audit of where you use fossil fuel energy in your life (at home, in travel etc.). Reduce your use as much as possible. When you have eliminated all you can, offset the rest through an organisation like Climate Stewards, a Christian offsetting charity, that can plant trees or take other actions to absorb the equivalent amount of emissions you have made.
Ethical Consumption
Speed the shift to a 100% clean energy economy by switching your car (if you have one) from petrol to electric. Do some research, it’s not as expensive as it sounds. There are more and more second-hand models on the market with good range, and cheaper options of leasing and paying in instalments are available. It’s the future.
Encourage us and others by letting us know what actions you have taken – message us at info@ariseuk.org, or via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Find out more
It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested in joining or starting a local Arise group in your church or area. If you are already in an Arise group, take this action to your wider church, and get them all to do it too.
Find out more about why the world needs 4 Shifts to transition to a green and fair global economy in Arise’s 4 Shifts Report, and how this forms part of God’s bigger vision for our world in the Arise Manifesto.
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