Evangelicals speak out at COP26

Christians have made their presence felt at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Many young evangelicals were among the thousands who marched through the city as part of the Fridays For Future movement, inspired by the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was at the rally. Churches were behind a special handing-in of petition signatures and paper ‘prayer boats’ to the COP presidency.

The messages called on political leaders at the summit to put in place legislation and policies that would limit warming to 1.5ºC, deliver on existing climate-finance commitments for people already the worst affected by climate change, and shift investment from fossil fuels to sustainable and renewable energy.

The handing-in was at a service in St George’s Tron Church, Glasgow, with Act Alliance and Christian Aid among the organisations represented.

Jen Morris, of the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN), said: ‘The climate crisis is both a symptom and a cause of global injustice, with the world’s poorest paying the heaviest price for the actions of the richest. YCCN is calling on the UK Government to put people before bank balances and use its role as hosts of COP26 to push for urgent action on climate finance.’

Tearfund campaigner Laura Young was encouraged by the summit turnout: ‘I met many people from many different Christian organisations in Glasgow, all driven by our faith to campaign for climate change as we seek to care for God’s creation.

‘From the first page onwards the Bible speaks about God’s creation; we have a responsibility to look after it. But our many destructive practices show we’re just not doing that’.

Shanley McConnell, researcher for the Evangelical Alliance, said: ‘We will weigh the research presented at COP26, articulate public policy decisions, and advocate for socio-economic change with Biblical motivation.

‘Our hope is that the church will bear witness to the compassion, intentionality, and dominion of God by working diligently to protect His creation.’

Christian charity A Rocha, which works for the protection and restoration of the natural world, demanded four key deliverables from COP26. Firstly, firm agreement on ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. Secondly, rich countries to deliver the long-unkept promise of $100billion a year in climate finance to help developing countries go green. Thirdly, – working with nature not against – countries committing to include nature-based solutions in their national climate plans and avoiding all suspicions of greenwash. And finally, binding agreement to accelerate the pace of action, with nations agreeing to an annual UN review of the adequacy of combined national greenhouse gas targets.