A rare event happened on September 8th this year that you may have missed. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Pope Francis, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, released their first ever joint statement. The statement was about COP26. The Church leaders talked about a ‘critical moment’ for humanity. They urged people to ‘listen to the cry of the Earth and of people who are poor and they called on leaders from all over the world to embark on a transition to just and sustainable economies.
The three church leaders have never made a joint statement before. It must be something pretty big to make them cooperate in this way you may think, and it is – really, really big.
They continued: ‘We stand before a harsh justice: biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, since we have greedily consumed more of the earth’s resources than the planet can endure. But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them.’
Code red for the climate
Over the last year the impact of climate change has been impossible to ignore. In the summer the United Nations, World Meteorological Organization, World Health Organisation, The International Panel on Climate Change, and the Met Office issued a report that detailed the devastating changes to the climate in 2020. They issued a stark warning that we were close to our last chance to do anything about it. They said:
- It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.
- The scale of recent changes across the climate system as a whole and the present state of many aspects of the climate system are unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years.
- Human-induced climate change is already increasing the frequency and intensity of many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.
COP26, November 2021
The COP26 meeting – the 26th Conference of the Parties takes place on the 1st -12 November 2021. COP26 is a chance for the world to come together to start actually reducing the use of fossil fuels. Leaders from over 190 countries are meeting in Glasgow to agree a way forward. In 2015, COP21 produced the Paris agreement where countries agreed to limit average global warming to 1.5 °C. Since 2021, fossil fuels have continued to be burnt in ever greater quantities. The current global temperature increase is an average of 1.2°C. The ambition of the Paris agreement was good, but the commitments were not enough to stop global warming. To have a 50% chance of keeping the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C the world has to achieve net zero production of carbon dioxide by 2050 and halve carbon dioxide production by 2030. COP26 has a huge task ahead of it.
Justin Welby, Pope Francis, and The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have asked us to take action. They want us to pray for:
- World leaders ahead of COP26
- For individuals: To make meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the planet, working together and taking responsibility for how we use our resources
- For those with far-reaching responsibilities: To choose people-centred profits and lead the transition to just and sustainable economies
Prayer points for COP26 Glasgow
From the Baptist Union Environmental Network:
- Pray that the UK government will lead by example and show clearly how we will achieve our own targets for climate action and achieving net zero.
- Pray for justice and fairness to be at the heart of the decisions that are made.
- Pray that representatives from developing countries will not be limited from attending due to COVID19
- Pray for Government ministers and others leading the conference.
- Pray for the voices of young people to be heard in every aspect of the conference.
The role of the Christian community
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to awaken the hearts of all Christians to our complicity in harming God’s creation and then to see ourselves as those who should lead by example.
- Pray for our church communities to invest in green solutions within our buildings and land, and a willingness to share best practice.
- Pray for Christian voices to speak up against the injustice of climate change as it effects the poorer nations disproportionately, and for richer nations to financially support green solutions across the world.
Find out more:
- Watch a video about COP26 by the Joint Public Issues Team
- Read the multifaith decaration on COP26 from the UK Baptist Union
- Read the United Nations reports on the climate
- Find out why Faith Matters at COP 26
- More prayers for COP 26