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What's the story?

The UK will host the snappily titled 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from 1st -12th November 2021. The summit (postponed from 2020) bills itself as "Uniting the world to tackle climate change."  The goals of the summit are to secure global net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century and keep the target of global temperature rises "within reach."  It also aims to encourage countries to work together to protect communities and natural habitats and raise finance to help them reach their goals.

The Young Christian Climate Network is an action-focused community of young Christians in the UK (aged 18-30) who describe themselves as "choosing to follow Jesus in the pursuit of climate justice."  One of the ways in which they are planning to highlight their concern is to organise a walking relay starting from St Ives in Cornwall on 11th June and concluding in Glasgow on 30th October.

They say:

"The climate crisis is a reflection, and a cause, of deep injustice in the world. This crisis arises from our abuse of God’s creation, and our broken relationship with our neighbours worldwide who suffer most from its consequences. We are convinced of the Biblical mandate to care for creation, and lament its exploitation."


"We are organising this Relay to COP26 to show we care about climate justice and creation care. We want to see systematic change on a global and a local scale. We hope that through this relay, we can raise awareness of COP26 and our imperative as Christians to engage in creation care theology, individually and corporately."


Watch

Watch the video together.  Click on the above image to play the video or watch via the link below (scroll down after the video for the rest of the article).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-57002535

 


Ask

  • Has anyone in the group heard of COP26?
  • Share the goals of the summit. What do the group think about the goals of the summit?  Do they think they are achievable? Do they think that they are enough?  What might stand in the way of them achieving their goals?
  • What do the group think about the Young Christian Climate Network relay?  Is it something they would like to be involved in (if they were the right age)? What do they think is meant by "the Biblical mandate to care for creation, and lament its exploitation?"
  • Do they think the relay will make a difference?
  • How do the young people think that as a group or an individual they could engage with issues related to climate change justice more?  How can the voices of young people be heard?  What practical steps could they as a group or individual take to help contribute to stopping climate change?

Share

Psalm 24:1

The earth belongs to God!  Everything in all The world is his. He is the one who pushed the oceans back to allow dry land to appear


Pray

  • Pray for the world leaders as they prepare for the summit and that when they meet they will be granted wisdom and will be able to set aside their own agendas in order to be able to tackle this global issue.  Pray that they will achieve or exceed their goals.
  • Pray for those involved in the climate change relay. Ask God to protect them as they walk and give them opportunities to share what they are doing and tell people why they are doing it.  Pray for more opportunities for young people to make their voices heard over this issue.
  • Pray for the young people that as a group and individuals they will have opportunities to engage in climate change justice issues and can help take practical steps, however small, to help reduce the causes of the crisis.

Links

COP26 website

YCCN WEBSITE

ENERGIZE ACT JUSTLY SERIES