COP stands for Conference of Parties.
COP 26 is the world climate change conference being arranged by the United Nations from the 1st – 12th November 2021 in Glasgow.
The UN organises these conferences every five years for Heads of State, climate experts and activists to discuss global progress in reducing global heating. The previous conference in 2015 in Paris resulted in all the nations of the world agreeing to aim to reduce carbon emissions so that the world could restrict global heating if possible to a 1.5 C increase above pre-industrial levels. COP 26 was postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID emergency. The aim in Glasgow is to obtain legally binding CO2 reduction commitments from every nation.
This matters to the church for many reasons. First: carbon dioxide levels are still inexorably climbing precipitously and have reached over 418 parts per million (ppm), at least 60 ppm higher than is needed for the temperature to stabilise. Secondly, global heating is racist: black Asian and minority ethnic people are suffering far more than white, but have done far less to increase carbon dioxide levels. Thirdly, global heating is anti-female: women suffer globally far more than men since they do most of the agricultural work and are responsible for most of food preparation, both of which are suffering grievously from climate change. Fourthly, global heating is exacerbating inequality: the poor suffer more from desertification, flooding, hurricanes and sea-level rise than the rich – and yet they have done far less to cause climate change than Europeans and North Americans.
Why should British Christians be involved? Since the meeting is in our country, we need to show global leadership in reducing CO2 emissions. ‘We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now’ (Rom 8:22). Now is the time to bring to birth, with the help of Christ’s church in this country, effective policies to save some of God’s creation. What good is our church if we have not got a decent planet to put it on? St Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19-20 “God was pleased through Christ to reconcile to himself all things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” Thus we are called to reconcile “all things”, not just humans, with God. Since God, according to Jesus, cares about sparrows and lilies, we must do so too.
John Anderson