ON Friday 26 July, members of Christian Climate Action sat down outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and began to pray, whilst holding a banner saying: ‘Just Stop Fossil Fuels, Sign the Fossil Fuel Treaty’.
Christian Climate Action (CCA) is praying that all governments will endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a concrete, binding plan to end the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and manage a global transition away from fossil fuels.
Christian Climate Action is also calling on all Faith leaders to endorse the treaty, perhaps as a way of celebrating the Season of Creation, which begins on 1 September and ends on 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The Rev James Grote, Baptist Minister, said: “When I see people losing everything they have because of flood or fire, and people dying because of extreme heat, I want to despair, but as Christians we are called to hope and to speak out for justice. We can’t fix this by driving electric cars or doing our recycling, we need everyone to come together, which is why we are praying and asking governments all over the world to work together for our survival.
Also taking part in the action was the Rev Jonathan Herbert, Chaplain to Gypsies and Travellers in Dorset and Wiltshire. He said: “Jesus told the story of a widow pleading persistently with an unjust judge, to encourage us to pray without ceasing. Christian Climate Action has always taken our prayer onto the streets particularly to places such as the Department for Energy and Net Zero that, by failing to take bold enough action, perpetuate the injustice and suffering that climate change brings.”
Christian Climate Action says: “Without an emergency plan to cut fossil fuel use we face floods, droughts, and wildfires like we have never seen before, crops will fail, billions of people will be exposed to unlivable conditions, hundreds of millions will face starvation and ultimately death.
“As citizens of a wealthy developed country, we are aware that our nation along with other wealthy nations bear the greatest responsibility for the climate crisis, but none are taking on their fair share of the global effort to reduce carbon emissions.
“We are glad that our new government has committed to no new oil and gas in our country. We now need them to revoke the most recent licences and put an urgent plan in place to phase out current production and consumption of what we know is a weapon of mass destruction.
“As Christians we cannot just stay at home and stand by while our governments around the world grant licences and tax breaks to oil and gas companies to put the lives of so many people and so much of God’s creation in danger.
“We are not alone: Last Generation Canada, Letzte Generation Austria, Letzte Generation Germany, Extinction Rebellion Netherlands, Act Now Switzerland, Drop Fossil Fuel Subsidies Switzerland, Folk Mot Fossilmakta Norway, Scientist Rebellion Norway, Extinction Rebellion Boston, US, Scientist Rebellion, US, Extinction Rebellion Finland, Futuro Vegetal, Spain, Extinction Rebellion Sweden and Scientist Rebellion Sweden are all asking for the same thing.”
“We, with them, are demanding that our governments phase out oil, gas and coal and sign a binding international treaty.”
* More information on the Fossil Fuel Treaty here.
* Sign the call for the treaty as an individual or an organisation here.
* Sign the ‘faith letter’ as an individual or as a church here.
* Source: Christian Climate Action