Eco ChurcH
Eco Thought for December
by Chris Marshall and Lyn Hayes
(Members of the Trinity Church Eco Team)
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Last week the gathering of nations at the COP30 in Brazil failed to secure new pledges to cut fossil fuels leaving more than 80 countries frustrated whilst oil-producing nations are happy about the outcome, saying they have the right to decide on how to tackle climate change at their own pace. It was a challenging summit, with many countries saying opinions are more divided now than for a long time, as certain global leaders challenge the global consensus on tackling climate change.
Without the US delegation other powerful nations such as Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, which are US allies, were more emboldened to push their own agendas whilst China was able to keep a low political profile. While the continuing debate around fossil fuels rumbles on, China is quietly flooding the market with cheap solar energy products dominating the global economy without competition.
But the positive news is that rich countries have committed to triple the finance for poor countries to help them adapt to climate change; it is far less than poor countries are requesting and requiring, and there is a lack of consensus about how this can be delivered but it is now recognised they suffer disproportionately and more is needed to be done.
Despite the lack of agreement on how to tackle climate change the COP gets together eminent scientists, ecologists and leaders from across the globe and real-world solutions are being implemented at speed almost everywhere. Although most of us are not able to influence policy makers at a global level let us remember that we can all make a difference at home and lots of small things really do all add up. Our consumer choices are powerful so as we rapidly approach Christmas perhaps now is a good time think about how we spend our money, where we purchase goods from and what message we can send to those who are being disproportionately affected by climate change.
‘Buy local, buy ethical, buy only what you need’.
Wishing all our Eco explorers a very happy Christmas.
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