Where There’s Life There’s Hope?
It’s over 3½ years since I wrote the first article for the Chronicle about climate change and the challenge it presents, after a powerful presentation by David Ramsden MBE, speaker at the February U3A meeting. David told us about the huge sums of money spent by the main oil companies on anti-climate lobbying policies and the harm yet more oil production was causing. He urged us to take action, if only for the sake of the younger generations.
We’ve all come a long way since then, with very few climate deniers amongst us now and the majority of us making small but significant changes to our lifestyles, to reduce our own carbon footprints.
But here we go again with COP 29 (Conference of the Parties) from 11 to 22 November, meeting this year in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, an oil producing country. unfccc.int/news Some of you might even have been to Baku because of its ancient history.
There are three pressing requirements for the governments to agree.
- The rich nations providing the funds needed by the poorer nations to cope with the massive challenges of the changing climate and its impact upon them from increasingly damaging storms, floods, droughts and other disasters. inews.co.uk/news/environment/climate-change-richer-countries-reparations-poorer-nations-1957347 Remember they have done least to cause the damage they are now suffering.
- To begin the end of producing new fossil fuel supplies, though continuing to use the fossil fuels already on stream while we change to ‘green’ energy and 3) all the countries declaring higher commitments (nationally determined contributions NDCs) for reducing their carbon emissions by 2025, as agreed at the historic Paris Agreement in 2015. http://eciu.net/insights/2024/cop29-what-to-expect
For a helpful summary of each day’s focuses, see greenchristian.org.uk/resources/prayer-guide/ with sources provided.
Julie Fagan, volunteer, Sustainable Harborough Community and Eco Church
County Councillor for Gartree
