The COP 26 climate summit, which began on October 31, is scheduled to end tomorrow. Much has happened over these last 2 weeks, and yet, there is a lot that still needs to be figured out. How can people of faith contribute to the conversation and to the progress that needs to happen to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius?
As Karyn Bigelow and Avery Davis Lamb assert, “At the center of COP26 is not a political question, but a moral one: Will leaders prevent further climate catastrophes or will they sell off the future of God’s people and planet?” Read on for our summary and call to action.
The Issue:
Right now, leaders from around the world are meeting in Glasgow, Scotland for the 26th meeting of the Conference Parties (COP26), a major climate summit. They are discussing their progress on the goals set out at the Paris climate summit, and will hopefully be committing to even stronger targets aimed at keeping global warming to no more than an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times, the level widely agreed upon to avoid the most disastrous impacts of climate change.
You can learn more about COP 26 by reading this primer from the Guardian or this one from Climate XChange.
This week, the task moves from making the bold top-line commitments, to working out the details on how countries plan to meet their stated goals. One of the main criticisms is that so far, the conference has been rather big on pledges and short on details of how to actually fulfill them. Another criticism is that Indigenous voices have largely been left out, and many young activists are being closed out of the room as well. There is also a notable gender gap in who is at the table. Young people have been leading rallies in Glasgow; you can check out some of the coverage here and here.
There are only 2 days left in the summit, with many issues still to resolve and stronger commitments to be made (with actual plans) to truly keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
What can we do? Speak up in this moment.
- Pray for the world leaders and negotiators who are having difficult conversations this week, and for all those who have been impacted already by the effects of climate change.
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- You can watch the recording of “24 Hours for the Climate”, a prayer service organized by The Missionary Society of St. Columban, in collaboration with other Catholic organizations from around the world.
- Advocate:
- Call the White House and urge President Biden to:
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- Make strong commitments at COP 26, such as signing onto the pledge to phase out coal and delivering on the promised funds to poorer nations. So far, the U.S. has only contributed 20% of the funds we had originally promised. Advocate for more detailed plans about how the U.S. and other countries will cut emissions.
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- Consider speaking from the lens of your faith. You can read our reflection on the connection between faith and climate action here.
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- Stop the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the U.S. Urge President Biden to cancel the Line 3 pipeline and the construction of other fossil fuel projects in the U.S. through Executive Orders. Ending fossil fuel expansion is critical to the national and global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read more: “Biden Can Block Fossil Fuel Projects With Pollution Equal to Over 400 Coal Plants: Report”
- Call or write your Members of Congress to urge them to support and pass a strong Build Back Better bill (the budget reconciliation bill). The bipartisan infrastructure bill was recently passed by the House (and already passed by the Senate), which will bring many good investments, but the Build Back Better bill is critical in the effort to more comprehensively address climate change, as well as fund human infrastructure such as paid leave, universal pre-k, and financial assistance for childcare for working class families.
The urgency:
The earth has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius, and scientists point out that every tenth of a degree matters. It’s important to note that even if countries were able to reach the commitments they made in Paris (which many are not even on track to do), that would not be enough to keep warming below 1.5 degrees. So, it is urgent that countries increase their commitments for reducing emissions at COP26, and keep them.
The climate crisis is impacting millions of people around the world; in fact a new study showed that 85% of the world’s population is already facing the effects of climate change. We know that the impacts are not felt equally among people. Low-income people and communities of color are more likely to be facing harmful impacts from climate change and environmental injustices. This reality is in large part because these communities face a disproportionate, decades-long burden of pollution and environmental hazards being sited in their neighborhoods. Compounding these injustices is that low-income communities often don’t have the resources to fund adaptation projects or the residents often can’t afford to move away from neighborhoods or villages that are at greater risk of flooding, hurricanes, or sea-level rise, and are often left behind when these disasters strike.
The connection to our faith:
Climate change, and what world leaders are going to do about it, is a moral issue. After reading GreenFaith Executive Director Rev. Fletcher Harper’s recent piece in Sojourners, I feel compelled to go beyond stating that our faith calls us to care for creation. It does. But in this moment of climate crisis, people of faith are called to say more and do more than we ever have to protect humanity. The climate crisis we are facing is human-made. It is largely the result of over-dependence on fossil fuels, ingrained through decades of misinformation and disinformation by fossil-fuel executives about the impacts of burning fossil fuels and through federal and state policies that have long subsidized the production and use of fossil fuels. In order to protect humanity, is imperative that policy change is achieved to transition away from the use of fossil fuels in a just and equitable way.
In a time when low-income communities and communities of color are facing disproportionate impacts from environmental destruction and climate change, we are called to not only speak up in support of climate and environmental justice, but also to boldly call out the unjust policies and greed that is harming our most vulnerable siblings and our more-than-human kin.
Rich countries, who have done the majority of the polluting and who have the most resources for climate adaptation and mitigation, must step up in terms of policy and dollars. Commitments must be made and kept. Discussions about what solutions and policies are needed to keep warming below 1.5 degrees must include the voices of those who are living on the frontlines of environmental injustice and climate destruction.
COP 26 So Far:
For a helpful summary and analysis of the pledges made at COP 26 in the first week, check out last week’s newsletter from Atmos Magazine. One theme from their analysis is that the pledges made so far are a great start, but there is an overall lack of consequences for failing to achieve the commitments and some of the biggest emitters have not joined the pledges. A lot will depend on countries’ follow-through. A couple of the top-line pledges include:
- Leaders of over 100 countries pledged to end deforestation by 2030, a pledge aimed at protecting more than 85% of the world’s forests. However, as the Atmos newsletter points out, “the pledge isn’t binding and 2030 is still nearly a decade away.”
- More than 100 countries joined a pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
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- As Atmos states: “Over 100 countries signed on board for this pledge—which is great, except that the three top methane-emitting countries did not: China, Russia, and India. And similar to the deforestation pledge, this one is nonbinding, meaning that there are essentially no consequences should any of these countries fail to clear a bar that is already concerningly low.”
- More than 40 countries have pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in their healthcare systems
- The initial draft agreement by summit organizers on Wednesday 11/10 includes phasing out coal and fossil fuels, but does not offer firm deadlines.
Further reading:
“How climate change is disproportionately affecting girls in low-income countries” (Washington Post, November 8, 2021)
“At Climate Summit, Can the World Move from Talk to Action?” (Yale Environment 360, October 12, 2021)
“Faith groups can ‘really make a difference’ at COP26 and beyond, leaders say” (NCR, October 29)
“Why developing countries say net-zero is ‘against climate justice’” (Grist, October 25)