Climate Change: Faith, Hope and Love

September 10, 2017

Richard Milne

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Tena koutou, good morning all.

In this third and final session in the Season of Creation, Cate and Helen have kindly invited me to speak to you about climate change, in my capacity as the Co-convenor of the Anglican Climate Action Network. I have spent most of my life in research in both the physical and the biomedical sciences, and appreciating the world we live in through tramping, climbing and sailing.

In the 1st  book of Corinthians chapter 13 we read:

“Three things will last forever -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love.”

So I want to speak today about faith, hope and love in relation to climate change.

But first, some background. In Antarctica there is a huge thick sheet of floating ice called the Larsen Ice Shelf. Twenty-two years ago, a large iceberg broke off. Then 15 years ago an even larger chunk broke off and collapsed into the sea, where it is still drifting around. Together, these icebergs are about the size of Auckland region. That is enough to sink hundreds of Titanics!

This was my personal wake-up call to climate change. I realised that my world would never be the same again, because climate change is not in the future, it is happening now.

Just eight weeks ago, National Geographic reported that one of the largest icebergs ever recorded broke off from the Larsen ice shelf. It is estimated to weigh a trillion tons. The process is continuing.

Why does this matter? Nobody lives there do they, except a few penguins and some seals? It matters because the Arctic and the Antarctic are the thermometers of the planet. They tell us a great deal about our geologic history and also what is happening right now to our planet.

Faith

We have all heard about the human causes and the impact of climate change, and I won’t go on about that now because you might all despair and go home! I shall speak about it after church. But what does this have to do with faith, if anything?

Martin Luther once said:

“if you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the gospel at all.”

Our own theologian Dr Nicola Hoggard-Creegan said:

“Christians speak of hope that can meet the despair of a world that is rapidly running out of options and…the language of repentance, as turning and taking a different course. With this approach it can engage communities and encourage them toward a different path.”

In other words, responding to climate change is about repentance, which means changing our values and our way of life. This means turning away from consumerism and individualism, and moving towards developing sustainable communities that care for each other and for our Earth. We need to learn together how to do this, and encourage each other.

The global Anglican communion which includes Aotearoa NZ has five ‘Marks of Mission.’ One of them is

‘…to transform unjust structures of society.’

We have learned that climate change will exacerbate social injustice because the poorest sectors of society suffer first and worst in any environmental challenge. For example, consider Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005: over 1800 persons died, mostly poor Blacks who couldn’t move away. Doing something to mitigate climate change 20 years ago would have reduced the degree of damage that occurred very recently with hurricane Harvey in Texas where I used to live and where some of my friends still live. And it is occurring right now in Florida with hurricane Irma; because warmer oceans suck up more water, increase wind speeds and cause far more flooding.

When sea levels rise in Auckland and storms become more powerful and more frequent, who will suffer most? Will it be the white middle class people living in Parnell (like myself)? Or will it be Pacific immigrants in Avondale? Which group can afford to relocate if necessary? Doing something about climate change now is helping to prevent social injustice in the near future.

Another ‘Mark of Mission’ of the Anglican Communion is:

‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’

This means learning to live more sustainably, to stop overconsuming and exploiting the earth. To see ourselves as part of creation, rather than masters of its, must be part of our walk of faith. I shall speak after church today about what some churches are doing.

The Rt. Revd. David Moxon has said:

“Climate change reflects the denial of social justice. Unrestrained consumption is inherently unjust and is not an option for disciples of Christ.”

To sum up; climate change has everything to do with us, as members of a faith community!

So where can we find hope? Here are some pointers:

Science. Committed scientists from all around the world have given us an enormous amount of information about the impact of our lifestyles on the climate, and the impact of the climate on our future. Much of this information is included in the fifth report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Technology. We are in a transitional stage where energy technology is going ahead in leaps and bounds. Especially electric vehicles, solar and wind power and energy storage solutions. We hope eventually to have alternative meat sources or animals that don’t belch methane!

Divestment. Many institutions are now divesting from the fossil fuel industry and investing in renewable energy: we are in a period of transition from the age of fossil fuels to the age of renewable energy.

NGOs: Generation Zero, 350 and many others are doing great work, influencing Govt policy. Their Zero Carbon Act points a way forward to reduce our carbon emissions.

The Paris Climate Accord sets carbon targets for the future. It was signed last year by 196/200 nations, including New Zealand. It is very unfortunate that the USA has withdrawn from the agreement but it will proceed without them.

The Church of England in the UK is leading the way with a programme called ‘shrinking the footprint.’ We can learn a lot from them.

Political discourse: Climate change has become a serious political issue. The Green Party will launch their climate policy at 2pm today, and most political parties now have some sort of policy on climate change.

Churches. In NZ we now have an interchurch climate network, which is sharing ideas about what other churches are doing. In the Auckland diocese, the Anglican Climate Action Network has been helping to educate people in parishes for the last 10 years. I shall be speaking about that later. Also Synod yesterday past three Motions to do with education and mitigation of climate change.

All these groups are giving us hope in the face of a seemingly intractable problem. They need our support. I wonder which of these groups you support?

Some people speak of their despair over the future. In my view the way to defeat despair is to get informed, link up with others and get working on the things that matter.

Love: ‘the greatest of these is love’

I would suggest to you that Love is not a right, it is a calling.

As Christians:

We are called to love God, whatever our understanding of God may be.

We are called to love each other, especially within our families and faith communities.

We are called to love the poorest sectors of our society and of developing nations, who can’t buy their way out of trouble.

We are called to love our children and their descendants sufficiently to create a world that is fit for them to live in.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has said:

“A long-term intergenerational approach is innate to tangata whenua. Kaumātua often make decisions based on a “mokopuna’s mokopuna” time scale – thinking of the impact on their

grandchildren’s grandchildren.”

So do we think about our grandchildren’s grandchildren? Are we concerned about inter-generational equity? If not, how will I respond when one of my grandchildren says to me: Granddad, what did you do about climate change before things got as bad as they are now?

Finally, we are also called to love Creation:

So how much time do we spend in the natural world? Do we visit our wonderful mountains? If so, do we really absorb the grandour and listen to the stillness? Or do we just look out our car windows? Or closer to home, do we take time to observe the lilies that Jesus described, or the magnolias in our streets and gardens this Spring?

“Where there is love, there is life."

— Mahatma Gandhi

In summary:

Faith is about repentance, thoughtful action, and being in community.

Hope can be generated by becoming informed, and working to make the transition away from individualism and consumerism towards sustainable communities that care for each other and for our Earth.

Love is our calling as Christians, to create a world fit for our mokopuna’s mokopuna.

Amine.