Climate change needs action now, say environmentalists

Sir John Houghton said last night there was still hope for planet Earth but only if action is taken now to rectify the worst effects of climate change.

The co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change led calls to governments to ensure that a crunch summit in Copenhagen later this year concludes with a robust agreement on tackling climate change that includes binding targets on carbon emission cuts and adequate adaptation funds for developing countries.

He told Christians at the Pentecost Festival in London that the summit in December was possibly one of the most important meetings of world leaders ever.

“Now is the time to take action on a very big scale if we are to tackle this problem. It is a challenge to all of us, to governments, to industry. It’s an issue that must not be overlooked by anybody,” he said.

Sir John drew on the Old Testament story of Joseph, who helped Pharaoh in Egypt store up grain in the seven years of plenty to prepare for the predicted seven years of famine.

“We have about seven years now to take action,” he said, saying that it was essential that carbon emissions start to come down by 2016. “If we miss the 2016 target, then climate change will get worse and the damage caused by it will also get worse.”

Sir John was joined on stage by Tearfund’s Ben Niblett, who warned that climate change was fuelling global poverty.

“Climate change is one of the biggest contributors to poverty and if we do nothing about it now, that challenge will only get bigger and it will become harder to get anyone out of poverty,” he warned.

Mr Niblett said that the church, being often at the heart of the community, was well-placed to address climate change and that many churches were already making a difference by helping to provide local farmers with skills, tools and seeds.

He encouraged Christians in the UK to help care for the planet by changing their lifestyles: “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things you could do and feel that all you can do by yourself is trivial. Please don’t give into those feelings. Feel encouraged to start with your own life and make a change to cut your emissions.”

Christians were encouraged to join green community initiatives and environmental coalitions like Stop Climate Chaos, as well as make use of free resources from Tearfund and A Rocha giving advice on how to cut carbon emissions in the home and church.

Mr Niblett urged Christians to pray for a positive outcome at the Copenhagen summit and help answer that prayer by campaigning.

“When we pray things change. If we don’t pray for a good deal in Copenhagen we won’t get one,” he said.

Pentecost Festival Director Andy Frost, meanwhile, stressed the moral imperative behind tackling climate change, saying that the Earth had been entrusted to man but ultimately belonged to God.

“If we’re made in God’s image, if God cares for and enjoys creation so should we. We’ve been given a commission to work for and take care of the land, to serve and preserve. We are given an opportunity to partner with God in a creation that is good, that has balance,” he said.

He assured that the God who resurrected Jesus after His death on the cross also had a plan to redeem his creation.

“If God’s plan is to redeem creation, we should come alongside him in that, instead of going against him,” he said. “The church is fundamentally failing to love our neighbours as ourselves. The challenge for us is to be less selfish, more selfless, and to become like Jesus in this world.”