What do we do when climate advocacy can end up feeling like joining in an unending hymn, not of praise for God, but of lamentation? How do we proceed in building economies of care for creation instead of extraction and environmental destruction? With the president of the United States signing us out of our responsibility to the world by dropping out of the Paris Agreement, how are we to move forward as people of faith? These are the questions left on my mind now that I virtually attended the 30th Conference of Parties (COP).
Scripture states that the earth belongs to us all, as mentioned in Psalm 24:1-2: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it; the world, and those who live in it, for he has founded it on the seas and established it in the rivers.” Because the earth is everyone’s, it is not up to me, Laura, to singlehandedly solve each and every problem that the climate crisis creates for all living creatures. Rather, God has given us each other. We are to act in communion with saints, those living and whose legacies we carry with us.
Pauli Murray is one saint whose legacy I carry with me in my advocacy work. Pauli was a 20th-century Black saint who advocated for justice in both the legal and church spheres as an Episcopal priest. Rev. Murray proclaimed our need for acting in communion with one another years before I am now. “True community is based on upon equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together.” Our country is reluctant to see our reciprocity among the UN’s Conference of Parties. We do not want to accept our shortcomings in the Paris Agreement’s plan to reduce emissions for the sake of the world’s wellbeing, and on a national level, there is a lack of political will to do better.
The extent to which local and state governments in the USA are reckoning and responding to this varies. California is attempting to lead the charge, but despite the accomplishments that representatives of our state listed off, I was left wondering what was left out. What of our shortcomings on climate justice that they did not want to broadcast due to being a government representative. Going forward from this COP, I am glad to know that despite my home country’s federal government throwing in the towel and attempting to derail climate action, other countries, cities, and states are still looking to move forward in climate action.
Time and time again across COP sessions, funding was marked as a major need. The $1.3 Trillion roadmap of financing remained unfulfilled by the end of the conference. Communities most impacted by climate change are the ones least responsible for their own destruction, as they have much lower emissions compared to countries like the United States of America. In addition, as stated continuously during the conference, financing needs to come in the form of grants rather than on loans that place a financial burden on countries who need assistance to fight climate change.
God has already given us a way. We have the technology needed to minimize further damage due to climate change. It is a matter of sharing these resources, specifically grant-based funding. It is up to us to let those in power know that we are depending on them to reduce human suffering. Finally, it is up to us to choose to follow the Lord and the saints before us, even when it feels like the long arc of justice is taking its sweet time to be present in this world.