An Overview by Amy Echeverria with contributions from Ellen Teague (UK) and Fr Peter O’Neill, SSC (Australia)
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October –12 November 2021.
COP26 is a critical opportunity to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Pope Francis will be traveling to Glasgow to attend the summit, the first time a pope will do so. According to Catholic News Agency, “at a press conference on June 17, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, said it was ‘highly likely’ that the pope would participate in the October meeting given his commitment to the issue of climate change.”
For many years now, Columbans have educated our communities about the importance of the COP process as well as advocated to delegates for ambitious climate action. This year is no different.
Fr Sean McDonagh, Ellen Teague, and James Trewby have arranged to represent the Columbans at COP26 in Glasgow from 1-12 November.
November 5 and 6 will be ‘Days of Action’ and November 7 through 9 will be an alternative summit.
Columbans in the UK have also partnered with the ecumenical Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN), who are currently undertaking a 1,000-mile relay pilgrimage from Cornwall to the Glasgow COP26 climate summit in November.
The first group left the G7 meeting in Cornwall on 13 June. So far, the young climate activists have visited Falmouth and Plymouth, Cardiff, London, and Oxford and will reach Glasgow at the end of October.
The walkers want to see systematic change on a global and a local scale, and also raise awareness of “both our responsibility as Christians and our passion to engage in creation care theology, individually and corporately”. Among their demands is fair climate finance and a call for the UK government to reinstate the foreign aid budget to pre-COVID levels.
Molly Clark: “It was wonderful to meet all the local people who came to support us, either through joining and guiding the walk or just through wishing us well and sending us off.” She said the hospitality of churches along the way was much appreciated.”
Rachel Mander: “There was a beautiful send-out service from Truro Cathedral, offers to meet a mayor, accommodation with views of a sunset over the harbour, rope swings over rivers, and a WhatsApp group with people praying for the journey. A boat is accompanying us on our journey, with sails made from material from around the world. It’s part of our acknowledgement that, ‘we are in the same storm, but not the same boat’ – just like we have seen with the Covid-19 pandemic. As young Christians organising this Relay, we know that the story of our adult lives will be witnessing the effects of climate change, which will hit our neighbours around the world first and foremost.
Many churches around the world have been calling for climate action for decades. A 2004 World Council of Churches statement calls, “on our sisters and brothers in Christ throughout the world to act in solidarity with us to reduce the causes of human-induced climate change… and to pay for the costs of adaptation to anticipated impacts”. I personally was just seven years old when this call was issued. In faith, we ask churches in the UK to respond by joining us in this Relay to COP26.
We have over 100 days of walking ahead of us, and events in 10 major cities across the UK. We would love you to join us: walk with us, host us in church halls, hold Climate Sunday services as we pass through, campaign with us to ask the UK government to act to ensure no country gets pushed into debt because of climate change.”
Sophie Mitchell: “In February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic, I addressed the General Synod of the Church of England, urging them to act big and act fast in relation to climate action. What was required was not more documentation but clear plans, clear actions, clear deadlines. At that meeting, the Synod voted to adopt a 2030 net-zero carbon emissions target and are on their way to achieving that target. I know that legislative boards of other Church denominations have set similar targets.
God’s creation is a gift, one that we have been tasked with the stewarding of. I believe that it is not enough just to recognise that climate change is a threat to God’s creation. We must accept and acknowledge that we are to blame for this, and it is our responsibility to fix the problem. The climate crisis is a reflection, and a cause, of deep injustice in the world. This crisis arises from our abuse of God’s creation, and our broken relationship with our neighbours worldwide who suffer most from its consequences.”
The witness of young people, who will bear the heaviest burdens from the effects of climate change, inspire all of us with hope that COP26 will be a watershed moment.
In Australia, Columbans are part of the Inter-congregational Voice on Climate Change. On July 22, the coalition sent a letter to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging him to act on climate risk.
The letter is printed below:
Dear Prime Minister,
Pacific Climate Watch is a group of representatives of 22 religious congregations whose personnel work in the Asia Pacific or have had a historical relationship with the peoples in the region. Our primary concern is the impact of climate change in Oceania.
Our brief is to ‘give voice’ to our drowning neighbours and to alert all who will listen to the tragedy which is already on their doorsteps. Pacific Islanders are now telling the world stories of cultures wiped out, of villages washed away, of social infrastructure demolished, of salination of gardens and destruction of fishing sites, of overcrowded towns, of peoples fearing for their future. All because of the irrefutable fact of climate change.
These people, our neighbours, insist that they are NOT climate change refugees. These people, our friends, have plans for their future. Alternative, viable plans. These people, our colleagues, have a wisdom developed over millennia. They know their country, their ‘story’. They are people who deeply understand our universe. These people, our sisters and brothers, want us to listen to them.
Mr Morrison: before leaving for the G7 meeting, you suggested that the world listen to local voices such as the Asian Development Bank. Well, the ADB is speaking! On 14 June 2020 Relief Web published reports, based on ADB data, on two neighbouring countries now experiencing grave danger: Kiribati and Tuvalu.
Pacific Islanders, our neighbours, are being realistic. They know, as we know, that life is changing for all. They are ready to adapt to changing circumstances – with our help. They have ideas for preserving some of their islands. They need mitigation experts from countries like Australia who can advise them on viable alternatives. They need agencies like the ADB, Green Bank etc to help finance reconstruction plans.
They know that some of their citizens, especially the better educated, will seek new lives in other countries where they (and we) will benefit from their skillsets. Migration pathways will be essential for them as they plan a future. Put simply, their needs cover the areas of mitigation, adaptation, migration and climate finance.
Mr Morrison: please be ready to listen and to learn from our Pacific Island neighbours at the forthcoming Pacific Island Forum mid-August 2021! Let’s do this together!
Yours sincerely,
Fr Claude Mostowik, MSC (Chair)