By Dr Moses Amweelo
THE purpose of the earth is not to suit us or to fuel our ambitions, but to bring glory to God.
A fundamental part of being a Christian is the responsibility towards God’s gift of creation for this and future generations. From the tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the poorest countries to the richest, climate change impacts are already widespread, costly and consequential. Secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged stakeholders to consider concrete actions to tackle the phenomenon before it is too late. Climate change is the defining issue of our time. If we do not take urgent action, all our plans for increased global prosperity and security will be undone. If the people of God live in the world with catastrophic floods, longer droughts, collapsing governments and countries that are damaged by these natural disasters, and hundreds of millions of climate refugees and diseases spreading into new niches and sea levels rising, they would be justified in looking back at us and asking, “what were you thinking? Why didn’t you act?”
In his 1990 World Day of Peace message, Pope John Paul II recognized that “the gradual depletion of the ozone layer and the related greenhouse effect has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs.” Before the industrial revolution, the historic level of carbon dioxide was roughly 275 parts per million. At the time Pope John Paul II delivered that message, the global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) was 350 parts per million (ppm). Since then, atmospheric concentration of CO2 have surpassed 400 ppm for the first time in recorded human history. Christians believe that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” (Ps 24.1). Our creator has given us the gift of creation. The air we breathe, the water that sustains life, the fruits of the land that nourish us, and the entire web of life without which human life cannot flourish. All this God created and found it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The message of John Paul II has pointed out a worldwide ecological crisis, his references were clear and focused on industrial waste, the burning of fossil fuels, unrestricted deforestation, the use of certain types of herbicides – all of these are known to harm the atmosphere and environment.
The resulting meteorological and atmospheric changes range from damage to health to the possible future submersion of low-lying lands. The Bible teaches that the earth and everything on it, the sea and everything in it have been created by God. According Genesis 2:15; the Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. “Caring for the environment is a challenge for all of humanity. It is a matter of a common and universal duty, that of respecting the common good.” Every individual and institution must accept responsibility for caring for God’s creation, and “it is a responsibility that must mature on a basis of the global dimension of the present ecological crisis and the consequent necessity to meet it on a worldwide level, since all beings are interdependent in the universal order established by the Creator.” We do not view the riches of our earth simply as material to be exploited, but rather as treasures we are called to protect, preserve and utilize in sustainable ways for the well-being of God’s people and God’s creation. We have been entrusted with the responsibility for the stewardship of the earth, to protect and defend creation, but the global warming patterns, which were experienced in the last 250 years are the result of human activity directly related to the burning of fossil fuels. In other words anthropogenic activities are the main cause of global climate change, beginning with the industrial revolution in the late 1700’s, coal and oil have provided the energy to build the modern economy. However, the side effects of burning fossil fuels have proven to be more harmful than we ever knew, because that process releases chemicals into the air we breathe in and into the upper atmosphere. Chemicals like carbon dioxide act like a blanket over the earth and prevent heat from escaping in a normal way. As the activities and energy consumption of an industrial civilization have increased, trapped heat has risen to the point where entire natural systems are changing.
The Christian community approaches the issue of global climate change through the lens of justice. Just as Christ worked for justice on behalf of the marginalized and impoverished, we are also called to serve those most in need and add our voices to the chorus of those living in extreme poverty, who had the least to do with causing global climate change but will be most severely affected by the subsequent changes. Many churches are conscious of their responsibility as Christians to protect the earth and its resources, and many concrete initiatives have been taken to care for the environment. These initiatives include special services with a focus on creation, ways to reduce the electricity consumption and the buying of organic and or fair trade products. A growing number of parish churches commit themselves to being green. This means that they engage to follow a set of recommendations regarding worshipping, teaching and information, use of electricity, water and heat, transportation, shopping and waste treatment. Christianity is called a universal religion, because Christians believe that God has created the universe and everything living in it, and that Jesus has come to save and restore the world, that is, not only human beings but the entire creation.
A recent report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that by 2020, in just six years, rising temperatures caused by global warming may reduce yields of rain fed agriculture in Africa by up to 50%. As the climate grows warmer, food insecurity will increase in places where food is already scarce, like many countries in Africa, and will also in parts of the world that have seen progress in the fight against hunger like Latin America. One or two billion people will face water scarcity this century and by 2020 approximately 250 million people will face water scarcity in Africa. Bishop Callon Holloway (Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America), said while churches and other non-governmental organisations are working to assist communities in ongoing development and adaptation measures, the reality, as the National Council of the Churches report concludes, is that the challenges are just too great for churches to manage alone. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the UN Development Programme estimate that the cost for developing countries to adapt to climate change impacts could be up to US$86 billion per year.
Therefore, there is a need for the governments of both developed and developing nations to play a role in addressing these needs. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, stated that, “Our goal will be to develop a communion-wide strategic plan that meets the challenges ahead and builds confidence in God’s future.” He further said that the impact of climate change is already being felt in some Anglican provinces and dioceses. These include rising sea levels, stronger storms areas, longer droughts in others, shortages of food and clean water, waves of refugees. Climate change could lead to social and political upheaval, unless more direct and faithful action, in addition to the reduction of greenhouse gases, is taken soon, the consequences for the church and all of humanity will be even more profound. Caring for the whole environment includes addressing the accompanying issues of poverty, justice and equity. This is an opportunity for Christians to demonstrate a practical outworking of God’s love for all creation as good stewards of the environment. We believe our response to global climate change should be a sign of our respect for God’s creation.
* Dr Moses Amweelo is a former Minister of Works and Transport and currently a Swapo Party MP.