Before being ordained as a priest I ran a lab with Professor D. Q. Bowen dating fossil shells in order to understand more about long term climate change. Recently one of my ex-colleagues told me about the warming he saw while working in the Arctic. He described it as ‘unprecedented’. Reports of global warming are backed up by hard evidence. Scientists are very concerned about what they see. Most lay the blame for warming climates on human produced greenhouse gases such as the Carbon dioxide produced by burning oil, gas and coal. Some scientists believe part of the change is because of natural changes in the earth’s climate.
Some politicians and businessmen say that scientists are conning everyone in order to get more money for their work. They believe that agreements like Kyoto are aimed at increasing the power of bureaucracies like the EEC and the United Nations and damaging free trade.
The other side argues that some politicians, especially the Bush administration, are too closely connected with multinational companies to be unbiased. They also think that The USA government is suppressing research into, and information about, climate change.
There could be an environmental disaster of huge proportions. Even if some global warming were due to natural changes, it would be wise to cut greenhouse gas production. As Wally Broecker wrote - climate is like an angry beast and it is unwise to provoke it with additional Carbon dioxide. If we do not alter the way we live what does it say about our Christian stewardship of this planet? Care of the earth is part of our God given responsibility. The church should be doing things. Our churches nearly all have south facing roofs; we could use them to generate solar power. Many vicarages are energy inefficient, we ought to invest in insulation, double-glazing and renewable energy. It is not just the church; all Christians should consider reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide they produce.
Climate change is likely to hit world’s poorest countries hardest. Parts of the world could become impossible to live in if they get hotter or drier. Sea level rise will affect poor countries like Bangladesh. Christians have a duty to the poorest people of the world. We cannot claim to love others if we are not prepared to make small sacrifices to help them. We need to help developing countries prepare for difficult times. These hard times will come even if we reduce greenhouse gases. So, in addition to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions we need to support charities that will help countries to prepare for global warming.
Our church life also needs to reflect concern about global warming. Harvest would be a particularly good time to reflect on how global warming could affect food supplies. In Wales we can buy food from the rest elsewhere if our harvests fail. Christians need to think about those who can’t afford to buy food.
If we don’t take the planet’s problems seriously we will be judged for our lack of love and stewardship. God will judge each of us, but the church will be judged by society. That makes the environment a missionary issue.
The following web page explains more about the climate system and is intended to help people of faith understand more about the issues.