A New Year’s Resolution
Guest post by Green Christian member, Edward Gildea
We have just heard that 2024 broke global heat records and that the last decade was the hottest on record. The climate crisis is happening in “real time”. COP 29 was disappointing, as they always are, and we are about to break through the 1.5° safety barrier, if we haven’t already done so.
In the UK we are largely protected from the most extreme climate events, although many who have suffered recent storms and floods in Scotland, Wales and the north of England would disagree. Hurricanes are less ferocious by the time they reach us, having wreaked far more havoc in the Caribbean and Florida.
But from my personal experiences of sailing around the world, I know that the future of humanity will be determined by the overheating of our oceans. That colossal and increasing energy generates all the floods, storms, hurricanes even the droughts and wildfires that have become ‘normal’.
While we do our very best as Christians to “tread more lightly on the plane”, we often do so with a sense of futility and powerlessness. America, China, India, international corporations and the super-rich should surely be taking the lead?
China is an interesting case in point: we have offshored most of our manufacturing to China, so maybe we should own part of their carbon footprint as we import those goods and place a carbon tax on them? They have also taken the lead in manufacturing up to 85% of the components for green technology, such as solar panels and wind turbines – so we have some catching up to do!
We are lucky to live in a democracy. However, it is not quite the liberal democracy we need, as the current court case against government anti-protest legislation and the 20 climate protestors currently in UK prisons, including a 77-year old Quaker, returned to prison just before Christmas because her wrists were too small for the electronic tag testifies. And of course, in Columbia and other countries, environmental protectors are risking their lives. Let us remember with gratitude and in our prayers all those protesting on behalf of humanity to bring about policy change around the world.
For myself, I have found it helpful to consider my actions on three levels:
- Personal lifestyle decisions over which I have complete control
- Local action in the community, where I can organise, support and join in
- Protesting and campaigning nationally and internationally using the freedoms we have.
So may I suggest a New Year’s Resolution? To acknowledge our personal carbon footprint and take responsibility for it. That is simply a grown-up thing to do. As things deteriorate, we will know we did what we could. But also because it is the loving way to live now. And that is something worth resolving to do.
See some more New Year Resolution suggestions here.
Edward Gildea writes magazine articles for his local church, St Mary’s, Saffron Walden in north west Essex, each month. He has kindly given permission to anyone to re-edit for your own parish newsletters. Please credit him and his church website.
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