There can be few people unaware that the United Kingdom is soon to host COP26 (31st October – 12th November) – a meeting of the countries who signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It will be the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties – hence the summit’s title.

   Few people disagree with the idea that our planet is in trouble, and that many of its problems stem from human behaviour. We had for so long welcomed new developments in industry and technology - dating back to the Industrial Revolution, before and since - that their effect on our world wasn’t even questioned. It was progress, and progress was seen as good.

   But in recent decades it has become abundantly clear that our progress has been to the detriment of our planet and many of its poorer peoples. We can no longer afford to make decisions concerning how we live without some thought about the impact it will have on our world. My individual decisions may not have a large effect by themselves but when we multiply that by 7.9 billion (the world’s population) the enormity of the problem becomes clear.

   The period between 1st September and 4th October has in recent years been a time when the Church has specifically thought about Creation. As this period draws to a close and COP26 becomes imminent, we need to find ways that we can turn despair concerning the world’s future into hope.

   What can we do in our own lives to make a difference? There are all sorts of ways: wear more clothes instead of turning the heating up, go for a brisk walk to warm up when feeling the chill, make a vow to have some days or weeks without buying anything new, buy your next item of clothing from a charity shop rather than new, eat less meat, move from an attitude of consumption to one of generosity, support charities that seek to conserve and protect the environment, stop throwing food away, buy more seasonally, take election candidates’ green credentials into account when voting, campaign for environmental concerns to be higher up the agenda in national and local politics and so on and so on.

   The Bishop of Norwich, after the most recent UN report on climate change was released, said: “The message of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Sixth Assessment Report is loud and clear: Wake up world! It is time to stop playing political games and take action now. We are already seeing the effects of the climate emergency around the world – and it is the world’s economically poorest people who are already suffering the most. So it is our moral duty, and a Christian calling to do all we can to try to turn the tide. We don’t have a spare Earth.”

   This world is all we have. Let’s treasure it and thank God for it, remembering that it is a gift to be cared for and cherished not merely a resource to be exploited.

   There is a saying: “Live more simply, so that others may simply live.” Let us tread lightly on God’s earth.

 

Best wishes

Sarah