Hats off to Jonathan Sterling for his excellent, encouraging letter to our Bishops.
1 August 2023
Dear Bishop ,
It was a great encouragement to see that the members of General Synod overwhelmingly endorsed (by 256 votes to 36 votes) the Oxford Diocese’s Environmental Motion, at their recent meeting in York. It is another milestone we can all give thanks for, as the Church of England seeks to embrace its Fifth Mark of Mission.
As the Bishop of Reading, Olivia Graham, highlighted during her presentation, “The motion before you seeks to challenge us in all areas of life, from finances to buildings and political advocacy. We need the National Investing Bodies to be investing at scale in renewable energy and climate solutions. Doing everything we can in our dioceses and parishes to get to net zero. And asking every Christian in every church to pray for change and to lobby their MPs, as we ramp up to a General Election ... There is no greater issue facing society today, than runaway climate change. Our Church, with the level of resources, reach and influence we have, must be on the frontline of the battle, for the sake of every beloved part of God’s creation.” [see video link below at 50:25]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
I was also hugely encouraged by the National Investing Bodies [NIBs] recent decision to divest from all fossil fuel companies by the end of this year. I hope that the last few dioceses still holding investments in fossil fuels will also now rapidly divest. Reporting back to General Synod, Alan Smith, the First Church Estates Commissioner, stated in his opening remarks, “Synod, five years ago, you asked us to do something around what is the defining issue of our age: climate change.” [see video link below at 1:42:25]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
In the ensuing presentation, Alan explained, “Very, very importantly, through an unequivocal articulation that the target for net zero must be keeping average global temperature rises to below 1.5C, compared to pre-industrial levels. The kind of mantra of ‘1.5 to stay alive’ is not just a slogan. It is actually essential, if we are to flourish as communities.” [see above video link at 1:47:00]
Alan set out their decision to divest, within the context of these parameters that General Synod had previously given them. “You’d have read last week about our decision at the Church Commissioners to exclude eleven oil and gas companies for their failure to align with climate change goals. It was not a decision taken lightly. It was evidence-based and data-driven. It was a sobering decision, because it means that we haven’t seen the leadership that we would have expected and hoped for in some of the world’s most consequential companies.” [see above video link at 1:49:00]
As he concluded this presentation, Alan observed, “Our paper notes, Synod, that we are at a crossroads. I would expand on it a bit and give it another framing. We are either crossing the Red Sea, or the River Jordan, in how we engage going forward. We must ensure that it’s the Jordan that we’re crossing. We don’t have forty years to waste.” [see above video link at 1:51:10]
Responding to the NIBs’ presentation, Bishop Graham Usher, the Church of England’s Lead Bishop on the Environment, also sounded the alarm, “The cry of Creation is calling out amongst us all. The prophetic voice of the Fifth Mark of Mission is something that should be ringing in all our ears. Because climate change knows no international borders and its impact is being seen all around us.” [see above video link at 2:09:25]
Replying to the questions from Synod members, Clive Mather, Chairman of the Pensions Board, emphasised, “If there is one issue on which we all need to apply ourselves, personally, professionally, in all our various roles, and not least on our knees, it’s climate change.” [see above video link at 2:24:20]
In a further reflection, Clive said, “I am sure like many others in this room, climate change and the need to address it, is not something new in their lives ... I think we’re getting close [now], when this is really going to move. And it has to, because the warning signs are visible every day.” [see above video link at 2:34:15]
Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government, stated in a recent seminar of the Independent Climate Crisis Advisory Group, “We, I believe, have put in an excess amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere already. This is driving what is happening at the two Poles. And what’s happening at the two Poles ... will impact the entire planet. So I don’t feel too satisfied that 1.5C, averaged for the whole planet, is fine ... Where we are today looks exceptionally dangerous. And we’re at 1.3C above the pre-industrial level, as a global average.” [see video link below at 43:25]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Another leading British climate scientist, Sir Bob Watson, who is a former head of the UN’s climate body (the IPCC), recently told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, “I do not believe we will achieve [the 1.5C limit], in fact I’m very pessimistic about achieving even 2C ... The big issue is we need to reduce greenhouse gases now to even be on the pathway to be close to 1.5C or 2C. We need to reduce current emissions by at least 50% by 2030. The trouble is the emissions are still going up, they are not going down.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Or as Sir David King put it, “The reduction in emissions: without that, frankly, we’re cooked.” [see video link below at 44:20]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sir David King concluded his recent remarks with the following call to action, “So I think the challenges are enormous, but we can set out a comprehensive programme of action. The problem is, which government leaders are listening to us? We really need to get the message from this meeting into every major government leader in the world, to just spell out the dangers of inaction.” [see video link above at 46:10]
The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Michael Beasley, was one of the General Synod members who spoke during the Q&A session with the NIBs, following their decision to divest from the fossil fuel companies. Bishop Michael’s contribution included this enquiry, “I just want to add my thanks for this and wish this could be the main story coming out of this Synod ... And we’ll speak into the Public Square as well. What would you like us to say about the disinvestment decisions that have been made?” [see video link below at 2:27:55]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
The key message for us all to be speaking into the Public Square at this daunting moment in history is this: if we are to have a liveable future, there can be no new investment in fossil fuels. This message now needs to be repeated unceasingly to our government leaders, to the fossil fuel companies, and to the banks who continue to finance their activities.
As Bishop Olivia expressed this in her presentation on the Oxford Diocese’s Environmental Motion, “The recent and very welcome announcement from the Church Commissioners and the Pensions Board on divestment ... [has] given a clear and unambiguous message that we share the conviction of the International Energy Agency, that net zero is not compatible with the continued development of fossil fuels.” [see video link below at 48:45]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Alan Smith, the First Church Estates Commissioner, expanded on this issue himself, towards the end of the NIBs Q&A session at Synod: “One of the big things ... that drives energy forecasts is the International Energy Agency ... Now that has been the industry body for the oil majors. And it’s their forecasts that are saying that we have to hit net zero in 2050. That actually there should be no new investment in fossil fuels, in oil and gas, because there’s actually enough there that we’ve discovered that can get us through the transition.” [see video link below at 2:35:40]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Alan continued, “So this is their industry that is saying that and [the oil majors have] chosen to ignore it! It’s a bit like, if you’re an Anglican and saying you don’t want to believe the canons ... You don’t give a target and then roll back on it. In particular, when you’ve made so much money from the windfalls of higher energy prices, that gives you that ability to invest more in the future [of clean energy] ... They’ve [instead] taken that opportunity with all the extra money that they’ve got, to either give it back in dividends, to pay themselves, or to buy back their shares. And even that is a statement of intent of how they ... [are] really just going to be doubling down more on fossil fuels ... If you have the energy companies not following what their own industry body is telling them, about what is necessary and what is possible, that will obviously make us have to think about the decisions that we’ve taken.” [see above video link at 2:36:20]
Christian Climate Action (CCA) members were there in prayerful support at the General Synod in York. As part of our public witness, CCA is calling on the Church of England to put pressure on the UK government to stop issuing new oil and gas licences, to invest in renewables and to ensure that those who will suffer job losses in this transition, are trained for alternative employment in the renewable industries. CCA also continues to highlight the need for climate justice, recognising that those who suffer most have done the least to contribute to this crisis. CCA is asking that the Church use its influence to amplify its voice in support of the Loss and Damage fund and to propose that mechanisms are set up, which will ensure that the fossil fuel and polluting companies pay to repair the damage that they have inflicted.
Immediately prior to the Oxford motion being voted through so overwhelmingly by Synod, Bishop Olivia concluded her remarks as follows, “The issues which face us are deeply spiritual ones. They have to do with us facing into our sinfulness in the way that we have misused and mistreated this beautiful, blue-green marble, floating in space, which is our God-given, single, planet home. Mistreating it through our greed and indifference and apathy ... We must all wake up and we must all change. We must pray and we must act. We must lobby and we must influence in every single context in which we are able to do this. This is the spirit in which this motion is offered and I commend it to you for your support today.” [see video link below at 2:01:25]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Bishop Olivia had already amplified her call to action in her preceding presentation, “Friends, we are just off the starting blocks. We must go further and we must go faster. All of us: as individuals, churches, communities; as dioceses, the Church of England; as the whole Anglican Communion; and with people of goodwill from all denominations and faith communities. We have only the rest of this decade to take decisive action. It’s a very small window.” [see video link above at 50:00]
Yours in faith,
Jonathan Sterling
London
Christian Climate Action member
christianclimateaction.org