Fossil fuels are wrecking lives and this is why as Christians we need to do something about it’

As Green Christian’s vice chair I am deeply troubled by the state of our beautiful God created home. Our continued use of fossil fuels - oil, coal, and gas - is wrecking lives. This year, homes and farmland in the UK flooded, wild fires raged in Canada, drought led to hunger and starvation in Africa - all made worse by rising temperatures.

If we carry on extracting fossil fuels the whole of nature, our civilisation and billions of lives are at stake. It is immoral and irresponsible to keep on exploring for new sources of fossil fuels. We cannot carry on with “business as usual” hoping someone else will sort out the mess we are making of God’s precious world.

There are better alternatives, above all, reducing overall energy consumption.

Every fraction of a degree of warming that we can delay or prevent is a little less misery caused to the living inhabitants of God’s creation. Our calling is clear: we must just stop oil, coal, and gas - all the fossil fuels we have become reliant on. There are better alternatives, above all, reducing overall energy consumption. There really is no excuse. Anything less is in effect condemning ourselves and others to misery and death for the sake of corporate profits and our convenience.

As Christians we need to do something about this. As Christians we are called to love all of our fellow creatures. We must try to talk the talk as well as walking the walk – and also pray.

Each year from September 1st to October 4th Churches around the world recognise this responsibility as they unite for a worldwide Season of Creation 

Each year from September 1st to October 4th Churches around the world recognise this responsibility as they unite for a worldwide Season of Creation - a celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. You can explore the Guide and related resources and use them with your church this September. They have prayers, sample services of worship, ideas for a service outdoors in the sacred “Cathedral of Creation”, a creation walk or pilgrimage, and ideas for engaging children and young people.

This year the faith leaders of the Season of Creation are uniting Christian voices worldwide in a call for a new Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty. This is in response to two Pacific island states, Vanuatu and Tuvalu, who are spearheading this plan to end the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and manage a fair and just transition away from fossil fuels. The inhabitants of Vanuatu and Tuvalu are at grave risk of losing not just their homes to flood waters, but their entire countries, as carbon emissions increase, the temperatures soar, and sea levels rise. Individuals and churches can endorse the call for a new treaty – already supported by the World Health Organisation, the European Parliament, nation states, cities, organisations and worldwide charities and the Vatican. Can you persuade your friends and your church to sign up too?

Can you share your concerns with other Christians and see what you can do together locally to heal God’s creation? Many are anxious and fearful about climate disruption and biodiversity loss but have no-one to share with. Green Christian provides an opportunity on Zoom with our Deep Waters programme to explore these fears with conversation, reflection, and shared experience. The next eight week session begins on Tuesday 10 September.

Can we respond to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor by transitioning to renewables, and doing this in ways that are fair and just to those who did not cause this crisis? Let’s pray to God that we can.

I end with a prayer from the Season of Creation 2024:

God of truth and justice:

Fill us with your spirit of compassion so we may live and act with and in solidarity with Creation.

Guide us in paths of righteousness that help us to tread softly on the land and sail gently on the sea.

Give us wisdom and courage to recognise our role in the evil of systemic exploitation and extraction and to speak truth to power.

Give us strength of heart and arm to be agents of the ecological conversion the world so desperately needs. Amen.