Thomas Baldwin describes how the Church and wider Christian community is engaging with the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

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IF the politicians gathering in Glasgow for the rescheduled 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) need something to concentrate their minds, they only have to look back at the past 12 months.

In the year since the Covid-delayed conference was originally scheduled to have been held, there have been devastating floods in western Europe and China, extreme heatwaves in the US and Canada, and wildfires in Greece, Turkey and Russia. Rain fell on the summit of Greenland’s ice cap for the first time on record, and Sweden’s highest mountain was demoted to second highest after its glacier shrank by two metres in a year.

The current drought in East Africa has been described as ‘the worst in living memory’, with millions at risk of starvation.

Meanwhile, the alarming scientific reports kept rolling in: Arctic sea ice is thinning at twice the rate previously thought; climate tipping points such as collapsing ice sheets and warming ocean currents could destabilise each other, creating a domino effect; the Amazon rainforest was found to be emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s latest report, published in August, found that climate change is ‘widespread, rapid and intensifying’, with changes observed ‘in every region and across the whole climate system’. It warned that ‘unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.50C or even 20C [above pre-industrial levels] will be beyond reach’, and that ‘at 20C of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health’.

It is against that background that thousands of politicians, diplomats, lobbyists and campaigners are assembling, Covid regulations permitting, in Scotland’s largest city from October 31 – November 12.

“People describe this ‘as our last best chance to save the planet’,” says the Rev Dr Martin Johnstone, the Church of Scotland minister who is Glasgow Churches Together’s ambassador to the conference. “We have a huge opportunity here but also a huge responsibility to ensure that those who gather in Glasgow know that the attention of the world is upon them.”

The aims of the conference are to build on the ambitions set out in the Paris agreement in 2015, with countries being asked to come forward with firm plans for achieving carbon neutrality (no more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere than is being removed, also known as net zero) by the middle of the century, which is considered necessary in order to keep global heating below the 1.50C threshold.

World leaders are also being asked to work together to help the countries already most affected by climate change, often poorer countries in the global south, to mitigate the effects.

To realise those ambitions, developed countries are called on to deliver on their Paris promise to raise at least $100bn in climate finance every year, as well as working with international finance institutions and private and public sector organisations, to finance the switch to a global net zero economy.

The official COP26 guide states: “We can only rise to the challenges of climate change by working together. At COP26 we must finalise the Paris Rulebook (the rules needed to implement the Paris Agreement). And, we have to turn our ambitions into action by accelerating collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society to deliver on our climate goals faster.”

“I am hoping that there will be a commitment to stick to that 1.5 degrees,” says Martin, “And I am hoping that there will be an absolute commitment to a global transition fund that means we can enable the poorest in the world to meet the climate challenges that they are facing.

“In effect, what Paris did was set the ambition. What Glasgow will do will decide whether or not we are serious on delivering that ambition, even if Paris wasn’t ambitious enough.”

One of the major concerns for campaigners in recent weeks has been that, with many people from poorer countries not yet vaccinated against Covid-19, and unable to afford the quarantine fees, delegates from those countries will not be able to attend.

The Climate Action Network, a global alliance of more than 1500 organisations, warned in September that COP26 could become a ‘rich nations stitch-up’.

Martin said that that one of the tasks for the churches in engaging with COP26 was in making sure that the voices of those from the poorer countries were heard at the conference: “I am worried that many of the voices and experiences from the global south who are facing the impact of climate disruption right now are going to find it incredibly difficult to be at the COP and the churches have a huge obligation to ensure that those voices are heard above all others.”

We have a huge opportunity here but also a huge responsibility to ensure that those who gather in Glasgow know that the attention of the world is upon them.

Churches have also been involved in providing hospitality – in hosting campaigners at the conference (again, Covid restrictions permitting) and will be welcoming pilgrims from the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) relay and many other groups of pilgrims from all over the UK, Europe and the world who will be arriving in Glasgow as the COP is beginning.

For Christians who want to engage with COP26, the Church of Scotland and many partner organisations have produced resources and/or will be holding events during the conference.

Christian Aid is urging supporters to watch the documentary Thank You for the Rain, about the struggles of a Kenyan farmer, and to make a paper prayer boat to display in their windows or at church. The Joint Public Issues Team – bringing together three English churches with the Church of Scotland as an associate partner – suggests you go a step further and send the boat to your MP, calling on the UK Government to end subsidies for fossil fuels.

Eco-Congregation Scotland is urging church leaders and members to sign the Scottish Churches COP26 Pledge, which commits churches to divesting from fossil fuels, and as individuals to holding ethical investments where possible. It states:

“We believe it is unethical for Churches to invest in an industry that is harming the planet, as seen in ever more extreme and life-threatening weather events locally and globally.

“We support the campaign for fossil free Churches and are conscious of the increasingly severe impact of the climate crisis, especially on people living in poverty and on all life in our common home.

“We recognise the urgency of the need for a just transition from fossil fuels to clean alternatives that offers jobs and wellbeing to people in Scotland and across the world. We commit ourselves to using our financial resources to contribute to the flourishing of God’s creation, both now and for generations to come.”

Among those holding worship events during the conference will be the Iona Community (who are holding a big sing outside the Scottish Parliament) and two brothers from the Taize Community who will be in Glasgow, and there will be a prayer and meeting space at St George’s Tron Church throughout.

However, the largest event will be a mass mobilisation planned in the city on Saturday November 6, when organisers hope to have between fifty and a hundred thousand people in the city – joined in spirit by millions of others in cities across the world. The march will leave from Kelvin Park and arrive in Glasgow Green for a rally at 3pm. “If there was one thing I would really want church people to be involved in, it would be to make a banner and be there with that banner on the march through the city,” says Martin.

Life and Work will produce a free downloadable supplement to COP26, with the latest information on how churches can get involved. Available from www.lifeandwork.org from October 15

For more information on resources and campaigns: www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/ our-views/addressing-climate-change/ cop26-and-the-church-of-scotland www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/take-actionon-cop26/www.tearfund.org/campaigns/cop26www.christianaid.org.uk/get-involved-locally/ scotland/preparing-cop26 glasgowchurches.org.uk/glasgow-thewelcoming-city-2021-cop-26/www.ecocongregationscotland.org/cop26/www.yccn.ukwww.taize.fr/en_article29861.html