One Planet

Some world events capture the media's attention and others seem to come and go without much more than a ripple. Two years ago the COP 21 international climate change conference took place in Paris, France. An agreement was forged during that gathering which we now refer to as the Paris Accord  and eventually every nation on Earth signed on with a common goal of mitigating the causes of climate change. There were many religious representatives in Paris for that conference and prayers of gratitude were offered in churches around the world.

Two years later and the optimism has faded, in no small part because the president of the United States has decided that his country will withdraw from the accord, against the concerns of scientists and advisors. While it hasn't happened formally yet, Trump is not interested in participating in climate talks.

Still, this week leaders from 40 nations gathered again in Paris for the One Planet Summit with President Macron of France as host. Macron has used the phrase "Make the Planet Great Again" as a challenge to Trump's pathetic "Make America Great Again" crowing. Trump was not invited to this summit and Macron has provided grants for a number of the US's climate scientists to do research in France, which is a Gallic slap in the face to a nation which has been a leader in scientific discovery in many fields.


Here is the official description of the summit:

3 goals, 1 commitment: taking action together.

Adaptation, mitigation, mobilization. The Summit’s three key words will be discussed in the afternoon and each promoted by one of the three co-organizers: Antonio Guterres, Emmanuel Macron and Jim Yong Kim. The One Planet Summit is an alliance of hundreds of global leaders from all sectors, determined to demonstrate the power of collective action in addressing such a global issue as the fight against climate change. The aim is to find new means of financing the adaptation of our ways of life to inevitable transformations, of further speeding up the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and of ensuring climate issues are central to the finance sector.

While these are admirable goals I haven't heard much about what actually happened at the summit, and I hope this wasn't yet another greenhouse gas producing gathering with limited outcome.

This past Sunday was the second in Advent, with the theme of hope. Hope moves us beyond cynicism and despair, so we can continue with our prayers for decisive action on the part of world leaders, as well as our commitment to make God's planet great again. It's the least and the most we can do as Christians.

Have you followed the summit? Did you know it was taking place? Do these conferences matter or they hopeless?