COP 26 Primer Word on the Week 21st October 2021.
Why do we need a primer and what is COP26 anyway? It’s all about Global Warming. COP stands for Conference of the Parties and is the 26th annual event (excluding last year when Covid prevented it meeting). Glasgow is the location for the UK’s turn at hosting the event which is planned to begin a week tomorrow and end on the 12th November.
An agreement was made by 195 countries at the Paris gathering 5 years ago to reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gasses produced by fossil fuels and increase renewable types of energy like wind, solar and wave power. Various measurable criteria were agreed and are to be reviewed every 5 years. The review takes place this year which perhaps explains why certain world leaders will be absent!
The star attraction in recent years has been the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. She is now age 18 and has been a schoolgirl icon for environmental change. There has been a battle going on between world leaders who are mainly content to do as little as possible and Greta who understands their attitude and characterises their comments as Blah, Blah, Blah! She is now targeting the voters to put pressure on their representatives.
The scientific research claims that we need to halve our greenhouse gasses by 2030. The trouble is that even with many cars off the road last year due to Covid we still were over target! However, there are some encouraging developments. An example is the ongoing progress in the development of solar panels. These provide low cost power in regions of the world where it was unaffordable.
What should be the Christian’s attitude. Being made in God’s image we will have a love for the poor who are most vulnerable to global warming. We will support schemes such as Water for Cameroon which provides clean water to needy villagers in the North-West of the country.
Corruption is another factor in keeping poor people poor. Here we need to pray for clean hearts. Take God up on his promise to Ezekiel, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God (Chapter 36 verses 25 to 28).