Bishop Calls on Christians to Be 'God's Green Disciples'

The Bishop of Blackburn recently called on Christians to become "God's green disciples".

The Rt Rev Nicholas Reade urged people to be more thoughtful about the environment by flying less, walking more and buying fair trade products.

"God is calling us to share in His work of resurrecting His world from a potential death sentence," he told worshippers at Blackburn Cathedral.

"We all have a part to play in revoking the condemnation of climate change."

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change presents a "devastating outlook" for the world's environment and economy, unless action is taken to stop climate change, the WWF has warned.

In its latest report released in Brussels last Friday, the IPCC revealed that the impacts of climate change are here, now, and will only get worse.

Sea levels are already rising and if climate change continues unchecked 100 million people who live less than one metre above sea level are at risk of losing their homes and their livelihoods. In India and China people could go hungry as crops fail due to the effects of global warming.

Freshwater supply for hundreds of millions of people is at risk. But even this summary report only represents the tip of the iceberg, said WWF as it warned that the effects of climate change were already "altering the chemistry of the planet", causing the extinctions of species, and undermining economic and social development.