Weekly Action - 6 November 2023 - Climate in the King's Speech
The King’s speech
This Tuesday 7 November was the state opening of parliament. As is traditional, the King opened the new 2023-24 parliamentary session with a speech, written by the government, in which he set out the government’s legislative plans for the year ahead. This included a new Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which will provide annual oil and gas licensing rounds opening up new areas of the North Sea for fossil fuel extraction. Ostensibly, to help with UK jobs, energy bills and energy security, whilst not undermining greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets, in reality this new legislation will significantly set back progress on tackling climate change, and it won’t helping the UK economy or consumers at all. There is no space for new fossil fuel extraction if the world is to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming, the level all the science indicates we must stay below to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In addition, all new oil and gas extracted will be sold on the international market at international rates, it won’t be ring-fenced for the UK at reduced rates. By contrast new 100% clean renewable energy production like solar and wind power is much cheaper, cleaner and faster to bring online. It will absolutely help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it will genuinely be produced and consumed locally within the UK, at much cheaper rates for consumers. It will create far more new jobs than fossil fuel extraction will, and it will genuinely help with UK energy security.
The world desperately needs to scale up urgent action on climate change. 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, devastating floods in Pakistan, New Zealand, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and much more, all as a result of global climate change. This is impacting millions of ordinary people, like Paul, a friend of Arise from Zimbabwe. He has farmed the same land outside of Harare for 30 years with his children, and now grandchildren. He has kept records of rainfall for all that time, and seen it reduce more and more. “We used to have four distinct seasons, now we only have two. We used to know when the rains would come and when to plant our crops, now we wait and wait and no rain comes, we plant, and then the rain comes all at once and washes them out, then it is dry again” he says. It is developing countries like Zimbabwe, 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 are called to look after and care for God’s amazing creation, it belongs to him, not us, as he says in the Psalms, “the world is mine, and all that is in it” (Psalm 50: 12). 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 the overconsumption which is wrecking our planet.
Will you take action as part of Arise’s 4 Shifts campaign this week to help Paul and millions of others like him, and call for an urgent shift to a clean energy economy?
Take Action
Speak out in advocacy
Email your MP in your own words asking them to take urgent action to:
- Urge the government to change its plans and immediately stop the licensing of new oil and gas in the North Sea.
- Urge the government to instead 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 government to pass national legislation to bring this into effect in the UK, and implement it in every sector (energy, transport, buildings, industry etc.)
Find your MP, and their email address here
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 government to immediately stop the licensing of new oil and gas in the North Sea and instead to rapidly shift the economy out of fossil fuels and into 100% clean renewable energy.
Give
Give to Christian organisations like Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund or World Vision who are supporting the poorest communities impacted by climate change around the world.
Practical Action
Install an energy monitor at home. Use it to help identify ways you can reduce your energy use and save carbon emissions.
Ethical Consumption
Consider using public transport, car shares or occasionally renting a car rather than owning one. If you do need a car, consider having just one per family, switching to an electric car (it’s not as expensive as it sounds), or buying as fuel efficient and low emission model as possible.
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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