The World Holds its Breath at COP27

When God began to create the heavens and the earth,

 the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, 

while a wind from God  swept over the face of the waters. 

                  Genesis 1:1-2 NRSV

The annual United Nations conference on climate change begins later today in Egypt and once again there is both hope and skepticism about the value of this international gathering. We watch representatives from the participating nations work feverishly at the conclusion of each conference to produce a statement only to hear that the bolder proposals have been watered down in compromises that are not binding.

 Canada will be represented but we are "chief among sinners" in terms of emissions, or close to it. My apologies to the writer of 1 Timothy for borrowing the phrase. And Canadians are tepid in their commitment to to cause. A recent poll suggests that we rank near the bottom of 34 countries when it comes to public support for measures to help tackle climate change. We want our cake and to eat it too, so little wonder that our federal government sends mixed messages about how it will address the challenge.

Climate change is an existential threat, which makes it a spiritual problem as well. Recently the head honcho of the world-wide Anglican communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said:

"As global leaders gather at COP27, the world holds its breath. A world which has this year suffered further catastrophic flooding, drought, heatwaves and storms. A world already in crisis.  A world which knows that we are perilously near the point of no return.

"I’ve seen this myself just recently in Australia, whose great wealth is no protection against the flooding in New South Wales. And if it can happen in one of the most prosperous parts of the world, how much more devasting in one of the poorest like South Sudan, where more flooding has led to food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

"Living as one human family, I pray that we will hear clearly the voices of those suffering on the brutal front line of climate change and climate injustice. I pray that together we will listen to young people and Indigenous Peoples. At this COP, hosted in Africa, the perspectives from that continent must be heard.

"The climate emergency is an existential global threat that requires a global response, with radical action, imagination and justice. Let us together see justice done, so that countries can access new and fair finance for the loss and damage caused by climate change.

"It is imperative that we seek justice so that those nations with greatest responsibility will take the lead, achieving net-zero carbon emissions and supporting other countries in this transition.

"God calls us to embrace justice. Christian scripture describes how we share in the ‘renewed creation of heaven and earth with justice’ (2 Peter 3:13). Let justice flow so that we see human lives and hope restored, and the life of the earth itself protected and renewed."

Amen to this. May God's breath/wind sweep through the events of the next week at COP27.