UK Christian Agencies Join Stop Climate Chaos Campaign

Representatives of Christian Aid, CAFOD (the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) and Tearfund were among around 500 campaigners who took part in the launch of new climate change campaign ‘Stop Climate Chaos’ in central London Thursday.

The campaigners launched the campaign by lying down in front of the oil company Shell’s UK headquarters to form the swirling shape of ‘Stop Climate Chaos’ logo, reports Christian think-tank Ekklesia.

Paul Valentin, international director at Christian Aid, took part in the campaign launch. He said: “It’s curious to be asked to lie in the park during morning at work, but there’s little campaigners won’t do to draw attention to their cause.”

Oxfam, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are just some of the 15 other organisations that have teamed up for the campaign alongside the Christian organisations.

Mr Valentin said: “Climate change is an increasingly harsh reality for people in rich and poor countries alike, but poor people are most vulnerable when disasters strike.”

Residents in New Orleans are currently facing up to the large-scale devastation of their properties and their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Environmental scientists say the hurricane simply underlines further the need to act on climate change now.

“It is critical that we campaign for a major shift in the attitude of governments, especially those in the rich world,” said Mr Valentin.

Andy Atkins, Tearfund’s advocacy director, told the BBC Friday: “As a development organisation we can’t ignore climate change. But in addition, as a Christian organisation, Tearfund has in its operating principles that Christians should be involved with the whole of God’s creation, not just people. We have a good biblical mandate to be involved in climate change”.

The Stop Climate Chaos campaign is calling on the government to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent ahead of 2010 and to take the lead in pressurising other rich countries to do the same.

The campaign also wants to see more help from rich countries for poorer nations countries in coping with the impact of climate change and to help them fund the development of renewable energy so that poor countries can build their economies on clean power sources, Ekklesia said.

Campaign director Ashok Sinha announced Friday plans to expand the reach of the campaign to include other faiths as well as non-faith groups working on climate change.