The UN global climate change conference, COP26, now taking place in Glasgow, is a response to growing fears of global destruction if the rise in temperature is not brought under control. It is being hailed as a last chance for countries to band together to try and agree measures that will turn back the tide before it all becomes too late – which time, if Sir David Attenborough is to be believed, was actually round about yesterday (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59039485)! Nevertheless, scientists say that there remains a narrow but rapidly closing window, so COP26 is, amongst other things, aimed at getting agreement for achieving carbon net zero emissions by 2050. To paraphrase the words of Alok Sharma, COP President-Designate (https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COP26-Explained.pdf), this is our chance not just to save the planet, but to build back better and greener!
How realistic is this? Despite the much-hyped aspirations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the summit, is reportedly less than sanguine over its prospects for success, saying that it is ‘touch and go’ whether key goals will be met (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boris-johnson-prime-minister-glasgow-downing-street-australia-b962342.html). And given the track record for co-operation and collaboration that exists between nations, one suspects he may well be right.
China, after all, is already proving reluctant to commit itself, while President Xi refused to attend due to Covid (https://news.sky.com/story/china-details-carbon-emissions-plans-but-offers-no-new-pledges-ahead-of-cop26-12443988). Similarly, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have also both declined. And while US President Joe Biden did put in an appearance, there are question marks over American commitment to carbon reduction policy.
So does this mean that planet Earth is now doomed, with temperatures set to rise beyond those which can support life; with rising sea levels swallowing up vast chunks of habitable land; and with extreme weather conditions, bringing in their wake apocalyptic devastation?
The answer you give to this will depend on where you sit in the debate. Climate change activists scream planetary doom, unless we take immediate action – science, properly applied, they say, can fix it all. We must fly less, give up meat, and live more sustainably! But, on the other side, those who remain unconvinced point to the normal climatic fluctuations already experienced over the lifetime of our planet, producing at various times both extreme heat and extreme cold. Indeed, all things considered, there seems strong evidence to support this view. And yet … and yet the scale and speed of change does appear extraordinary, and it does raise concern.
So what is God saying to the world in all of this?
VfJUK suggests that humanity is being given a warning. The reality would appear to suggest that nothing we can do will reverse the disaster looming over us, as even the UN admits (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59049770). If we are lucky, and by some miracle COP26 succeeds in forging agreement for zero net carbon emissions by 2050, that doesn’t resolve the problem of how we then compensate for the carbon being released into the atmosphere as a result of the melting of the permafrost, conservatively estimated as containing four times the combined amount of CO2 emitted by modern humans (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00659-y).
Yes, the world is at a tipping point. But while we try and combat rising temperatures and extreme weather by our own puny efforts, we don’t stand a chance; nature will always be one step ahead. To have any chance of winning this battle, therefore, we need the help of the One who called all of life into being, and who alone has control over nature.
For too long humanity has treated God with contempt. We can do whatever we want, we’ve said. We can live as we want, have what we want … behave as we want. We don’t need a kill-joy fairy in the sky and His outdated morality! We’re all ‘god’ now. So, in our hubris, we’ve rebranded good as evil, and evil as good.
But to echo the words of St Paul, ‘God is not mocked … whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap’ (Galatians 6:7).
The climate is only part of the world that God created and of which He made us stewards. If we wish creation, including ourselves, to remain healthy and flourish, we must strive to obey God’s will for the whole. We can’t pick and choose. We can’t ask Him to ‘fulfil’ our desires … unless we obey His will. And if we are alerted to something going wrong in one part of creation, then we must ask whether it signifies that there other things we must put right in order to restore balance.
We cannot ignore God’s commands and reject the values on which life is founded, without consequence. We do not have the right to determine who may or may not be born, merely to allow satisfaction of our desire for sex without commitment. We do not have the right to play God, deciding at the end of life when a person is no longer of value and should be terminated. We do not have the right to redefine God’s gift of marriage and question our creation as men and women, together and jointly made in His image.
In recent world events ⎼ including climate change, Covid-19, and disruption of the global economy ⎼ we are surely reaping the whirlwind. Yet God, because of His love, is giving us a chance to repent. Before it all becomes too late. The question is, are we listening? Will we hear?
This article by Lynda first appeared in Christian Today, and is reproduced with permission.
Mkutano wa Umoja wa Mataifa wa mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa (COP26) unaofanyika Glasgow, Uingereza, umekuwa ukitoa mwito kwa nchi za Ulaya kujihusisha na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa. "Hii ni nafasi ya mwisho kwa nchi kuungana pamoja na kujaribu na kukubaliana hatua ambazo zitageuza mawimbi kabla ya kuchelewa sana, wakati ambao, kama Sir David Attenborough anadhaniwa, ilikuwa karibu jana (https: www.bbc.co.uk) ""Science-environment News 593945" Hata hivyo, wanasayansi wanasema kuna bado dirisha nyembamba lakini la kufunga haraka, kwa hivyo COP26 ni, kati ya mambo mengine, lengo la kupata makubaliano ya kufikia uzalishaji wa kaboni wa sifuri ifikapo 2050. "Alok Sharma, Rais wa COP, alisema: ""Hii ni nafasi yetu sio tu kuokoa sayari, lakini kujenga upya bora na kijani!""" Hilo linawezekanaje? "Hata hivyo, Waziri Mkuu Boris Johnson, ambaye ni mwenyeji wa mkutano huo, amesema kuwa ""ni muhimu sana"" ikiwa malengo makuu yatatimizwa au la (https: www.standard.co.uknews.uk) " Na kwa kuzingatia rekodi ya ushirikiano na ushirikiano uliopo kati ya mataifa, mtu anaweza kutarajia kwamba anaweza kuwa sahihi. China, baada ya yote, tayari inathibitisha kutotaka kujitolea, wakati Rais Xi alikataa kuhudhuria kwa sababu ya Covid (https: news.sky.com) # china-details-carbon-emissions-plans-but-offers-no-new-pledges-ahead-of-cop26-12443988). Rais wa Urusi Vladimir Putin na Rais wa Brazil Jair Bolsonaro pia wamekataa. Rais wa Marekani Joe Biden amekuwa akionekana katika mkutano huo, lakini kuna maswali juu ya ahadi ya Marekani ya kupunguza uzalishaji wa kaboni. "Kwa hiyo, hii inamaanisha kwamba sayari ya Dunia sasa imehukumiwa, na joto limewekwa kuongezeka zaidi ya zile zinazoweza kuunga mkono maisha; na viwango vya bahari vinavyoongezeka vilivyomeza vipande vikubwa vya ardhi inayoweza kuishi; na hali mbaya ya hewa, ikileta uharibifu wa mwisho wa ulimwengu?""" Jibu unalotoa kwa hili litategemea mahali unapoishi katika mjadala. Wanaharakati wa mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa wanapiga kelele juu ya kifo cha sayari, isipokuwa tutachukua hatua ya haraka - sayansi, inayotumika vizuri, wanasema, inaweza kurekebisha yote. Ni lazima turuke kwa ndege kidogo, tuache kula nyama, na tuishi kwa njia endelevu zaidi! Lakini, kwa upande mwingine, wale ambao bado hawajasadiki wanataja mabadiliko ya kawaida ya hali ya hewa ambayo tayari yametokea katika maisha ya sayari yetu, ikitokeza wakati mbalimbali joto kali na baridi kali. Kwa kweli, mambo yote yanapozingatiwa, kuna uthibitisho wenye nguvu wa kuunga mkono maoni hayo. Hata hivyo, kiwango na kasi ya mabadiliko ni ya kushangaza na ya kutisha. Mungu anawaambia nini watu katika mambo haya yote? VfJUK inadokeza kwamba wanadamu wanapewa onyo. "Ukweli unaonekana kuonyesha kwamba hakuna chochote tunachoweza kufanya kitakapoweza kuondoa msiba unaotutatanisha, kama vile hata Umoja wa Mataifa unavyokiri (https: www.bbc.co.uk news-science-environment-590-49770).""" """Ikiwa tuna bahati, na kwa muujiza COP26 itafanikiwa kuunda makubaliano ya uzalishaji wa kaboni wa sifuri wa kaboni na 2050, hiyo haitatatua tatizo la jinsi tunavyolipia kaboni inayotolewa angani kama matokeo ya kuyeyuka kwa barafu ya kudumu, ambayo inakadiriwa kuwa na kiasi cha CO2 mara nne ya jumla iliyotolewa na wanadamu wa kisasa.""" Ndiyo, ulimwengu uko kwenye hatua ya kugeuka. Lakini wakati tunajaribu kupambana na ongezeko la joto na hali ya hewa kali kwa juhudi zetu ndogo, hatuna nafasi; asili itakuwa daima hatua moja mbele. Kwa hiyo, ili tuwe na nafasi yoyote ya kushinda vita hivi, tunahitaji msaada wa Yule aliyeumba uhai wote, na ambaye peke yake ndiye anayedhibiti asili. Kwa muda mrefu sana wanadamu wamemdharau Mungu. Tunaweza kufanya chochote tunachotaka, tumesema. Tunaweza kuishi kama tunavyotaka, kuwa na kile tunachotaka... kujiendesha kama tunavyotaka. Hatuhitaji mnyama-mwitu anayeua furaha angani na maadili yake ya zamani! Sisi sote ni'mungu' sasa. Kwa hiyo, kwa kiburi chetu, tumeita wema kuwa uovu, na uovu kuwa wema. "Kwa mujibu wa Paulo, ""Mungu hawezi kudhihakiwa, kwa maana kile mtu anachopanda, ndivyo atakavyokata"" (Wagalatia 6:7)." Hali ya hewa ni sehemu tu ya ulimwengu ambao Mungu aliumba na ambao Alitufanya tuwe wasimamizi wake. Ikiwa tunataka uumbaji, kutia ndani sisi wenyewe, uendelee kuwa na afya na kusitawi, ni lazima tujitahidi kutii mapenzi ya Mungu kwa ajili ya wote. Hatuwezi kuchagua na kuchagua. Hatuwezi kumwomba 'atimize' tamaa zetu... isipokuwa tukitii mapenzi yake. Na ikiwa tunasikia kwamba kuna kitu kinaenda vibaya katika sehemu moja ya uumbaji, basi lazima tujiulize ikiwa inamaanisha kwamba kuna mambo mengine ambayo lazima tutayarishe ili kurudisha usawa. Hatuwezi kupuuza amri za Mungu na kukataa maadili ambayo maisha yanategemea, bila matokeo. """Hatuna haki ya kuamua ni nani anayeweza au hawezi kuzaliwa, tu kuruhusu kuridhika kwa hamu yetu ya ngono bila ahadi." """Hatuna haki ya kucheza Mungu, kuamua mwishoni mwa maisha wakati mtu hana thamani tena na anapaswa kuondolewa." Hatuna haki ya kuelezea upya zawadi ya ndoa ya Mungu na kuhoji uumbaji wetu kama wanaume na wanawake, pamoja na kwa pamoja, waliotengenezwa kwa mfano wake. Katika matukio ya hivi karibuni ya ulimwengu - ikiwa ni pamoja na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, Covid-19 na usumbufu wa uchumi wa kimataifa - hakika tunapata dhoruba. Hata hivyo, kwa sababu ya upendo wake, Mungu anatuwezesha tufanye toba. Kabla ya mambo yote kuwa marehemu sana. Swali ni, je, tunasikiliza? Je, tutasikia? Makala hii iliyoandikwa na Lynda ilichapishwa kwa mara ya kwanza katika gazeti la Christian Today, na inapatikana kwa ruhusa.