Special News--November 2021Planet SOSThe UN Climate Conference (COP26)
What it's about--Why it's important
Image: UK COP26 website “Today we come together united, in human fraternity, to raise awareness of the unprecedented challenges that threaten us and life on our beautiful common home, the Earth. As leaders and scholars from various religious traditions, we unite in a spirit of humility, responsibility, mutual respect and open dialogue. This dialogue is not limited to merely the exchange of ideas, but is focused on the desire to walk in companionship, recognizing our call to live in harmony with one another and with nature.” Faith and Science: Towards COP26, Joint Appeal (4 October 2021) -----------Overview. In this Update we look further into the health and protection of our planet, joining with many others in sounding the alarm on its increasingly catastrophic condition and future. Specifically we are focusing on the major, upcoming UN Climate Conference to be held in Glasgow (COP26, 1-12 November 2021).
Issues. As you have likely noted, COP26 and climate-environment issues are in daily news streams all over the world. For example, and to get a sense of what's happening, have a look at this short news report with brief videos, "Nations Urged to Heed Climate Activists' Demands for Bold Actions" (2 October 2021; see especially Greta Thunberg's two minute "blah, blah, blah" confrontation of world leaders over the past 30 years).
So what is it all about and why is it so important? And...what can we do, what must we do?! We address these important questions by sharing some concise information and different perspectives, supplemented by links to delve deeper into these issues as you wish. We finish with some brief reflections on being co-workers with God in our world and not giving up.
Applications. We encourage you to choose a couple items below for further review. Consider a few specific applications for you and your settings. Note that we have marked five items in blue highlights for those who want a core and quick overview. How can we learn from, connect with, and apply some of the resources and examples presented?
Going further--see these resources:
--Code Red for Humanity: The UN Climate Report (September 2021)
--Climate-Conflict-Corruption: Safeguarding People and the Planet (July 2021)
--State of the Planet: Our Suicidal War on Nature (January 2021)
With our best wishes,
Kelly and Michèle
MCAresources@gmail.com
Featured Resources
Planet SOS
The UN Climate Conference (COP26)
What it's about--Why it's important
Image: COP26 Explained, page 11
“We face three imperatives in addressing the climate crisis: First, we need to achieve global carbon neutrality within the next three decades. Second, we have to align global finance behind the Paris Agreement, the world’s blueprint for climate action. Third, we must deliver a breakthrough on adaptation to protect the world – and especially the most vulnerable people and countries -- from climate impacts”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Special Address on The State of The Planet, 2 December 2020
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1. What is COP26 and Why Is It Important. Anna Åberg, Chatham House (23 September 2021, short article). “The word ‘COP’ stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In the climate change sphere, ‘the Parties’ are the governments which have signed the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP brings these signatory governments together once a year to discuss how to jointly address climate change. The conferences are attended by world leaders, ministers, and negotiators but also by representatives from civil society, business, international organizations, and the media.The COP is hosted by a different country each year and the first such meeting – ‘COP1’ – took place in Berlin, Germany in 1995…COP26 is the 26th climate change COP and is hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy. COP26 was originally scheduled to take place in November 2020 in Glasgow in the UK but was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now due to take place 31 October-12 November 2021.” (introduction to article--read more!)
Going further:
The World Today (October-November 2021) Special Issue on COP26 and articles on the environment, climate, etc., Chatham House. For example, see A Manifesto for Justice for COP26 and Beyond. “Equality and fairness must be at the heart of all future climate change talks to allow those hardest hit by global warming to have a say in their future.”
2. COP26 Explained, prepared by the United Nations and UK Government (2021, 25 pages). “Around the world storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying. Air pollution sadly affects the health of tens of millions of people and unpredictable weather causes untold damage to homes and livelihoods too. But while the impacts of climate change are devastating, advances in tackling it are leading to cleaner air, creating good jobs, restoring nature and at the same time unleashing economic growth. Despite the opportunities we are not acting fast enough. To avert this crisis, countries need to join forces urgently. In November [2021], the UK, together with our partner Italy, will host an event many believe to be the world’s last best chance to get runaway climate change under control. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits - called COPs - which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. 'In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow.” COP26 schedule overview HERE.
Going further:
Inter-Governmental Report on Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis (2021)
3. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. Preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC….Remember, in 1994, when the UNFCCC took effect, there was less scientific evidence than there is now….The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system." It states that "such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."”
Going further:
United Nations. Climate Action
For perspectives, news, and resources
Image: Heads of the national delegations at COP21, Paris 2015. Wikipedia, Paris Agreement
4. Paris Climate Agreement 2015. “The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.” (quote from website)
Going further:
United Nations Environment Program
For perspectives, news, and resources
5. Faith and Science: Towards COP26,” Joint Appeal (4 October 2021). “High-level representatives of the world’s religions came together with Pope Francis at the Vatican to show their joint commitment to caring for the Earth and to appeal to world leaders to deepen their commitments to mitigating climate change…nearly 40 faith leaders signed a joint appeal that….urged world leaders, who will meet at the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference...“to take speedy, responsible and shared action to safeguard, restore and heal our wounded humanity and the home entrusted to our stewardship.” Catholic News Service, 4 October 2021
Read the Executive Summary HERE.
Watch the three minute video HERE.
Going further:
Climate and Faith Resources, Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities
Laudate Sí: On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis (encyclical, 2015)
6. Climate Change Risk Assessment: Summary. Chatham House (September 2020, 16 pages) “The world is dangerously off track to meet the Paris Agreement goals [2015]. The risks are compounding. Without immediate action the impacts will be devastating in the coming decades.” “This short report summarizes climate risks and their consequences for people, food and water security, as well as national and international security, migration, economies and trade, focusing on impacts that are likely to be locked in for the period 2040–50 unless emissions drastically decline before 2030. The summary report is intended for heads of government and ministers. It is supported by a full-length Chatham House research paper to inform briefing officials, which gives fuller detail on all the content. Note that all references are provided in the research paper.” Summary is available six languages.
Going further:
--Links to the full Report and to the short summary HERE.
Final Thoughts
Don't Give UpFaith, Hope, and Love as Co-Workers with God
Image courtesy and ©2016 ENOD
Our world is reeling. In the midst of our many protracted conflicts such as in the Middle East; our major ongoing calamities such as the recent earthquake in Haiti; our massive high-level corruption that disproportionately affects the poor as reveled in the Pandora Papers; and our macro public health problems such as in the covid pandemic; all of which collectively and ubiquitously plague humanity...we have turned our attention once again, in this Update, to our mega dire climate-environment crises.
But don't give up.
As people of faith who practice Christian spirituality, we are committed to responsibly engage with others in the challenges facing our world, locally through globally, while holding firmly to our belief that both fundamentally and ultimately we are in God's hands. We pray that God's purposes "will be done on earth as it in heaven;" acknowledge that prayer, repentance, and relationship with God are key to human-planetary wellbeing; and live in hope for the time when God through Jesus Christ will decisively intervene in human history with equity--righteousness and justice--to restore all things. And in the meantime...we seek to embrace lifestyles that prioritize a deep, practical love for truth, peace, and people.
We do not want to further problemitize our world's plight by focusing primarily on the negative. Rather we want to also promote the many examples of the good going forward, as people of good will find common ground for the common good. And we affirm, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., that human progress comes from "the tireless efforts of [people] willing to be coworkers with God." Don't give up.
See also:
--Being Faith-Based and Evidence-Based, Global Integration Update May 2019
--Faith-Based Partners in Transformation, Global Integration Update August 2015
Kelly and Michèle
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