Bishop James Jones believes his kettle can become a tool for protecting poor people. And, with Tearfund, he’s launching the Carbon Fast to help you plug into the power you have at home to make a difference.
How have you come to be passionate about climate change?
When I was in India with Tearfund, I saw the effects of climate change on poor people first-hand. Tearfund is doing some fantastic work in Northern Bihar, and for me it went from theory to reality when I sat with village elders whose village had flooded and I saw that people’s lives had been totally devastated. It is right to be concerned about aid, trade and debt, but it is no use if you negatively impact the climate and then do nothing about it. It is like giving with the one hand, and punching with the other. You might as well not give at all. We have to cut back on carbon. If we don’t, we will be ruining the harvest of those we say we are trying to help.
Who has influenced your thinking?
Young people from the inner city of Liverpool actually. They said protecting the earth was the top priority and it nearly made me cry to hear of their passion.
How did you come up with the idea of the Carbon Fast?
I was in a meeting with the Bishop of London and David Miliband, who was the Environment Secretary at the time. He was challenging us, saying the church has a major role to play in changing people’s hearts and minds. A light bulb switched on in my head, and I thought that during Lent we should call for a carbon fast. The idea of fasting is right there in the gospels, but why don’t people fast from carbon and do something really important at the same time that makes a real difference to someone else?
How does the Carbon Fast work?
People can chose one action from the booklet and do it every day, or follow the directions and take a different action every day for 40 days. For example, on the first day, people can take out one of their light bulbs and whenever they go to turn that light on, and it doesn’t work, they can remember why they are fasting from carbon – to help the poor of the world. At the end of the fast they can replace it with an energy-saving light bulb. We need to cut the carbon to protect the poor.
What changes have you made in your own life?
I make a conscious decision to walk as much as I can. I am not a purist, and still do use a car, a hybrid, but we need to use cars in a way that is careful. When I used to boil a kettle, I would fill the whole thing up. Now I only boil what I need, and I don’t leave things on standby. There are some very simple things we can all do to make a difference.
What’s your vision for the future?
A more just world where poor people are treated fairly. Micah says: ‘What does God require of you?’ There’s the moral imperative for Christians. We need to live justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with God. That means to walk close to the earth, not disconnected from it.
Has the word justice become a bit of a cliché?
It’s right to say that any word can become a cliché. As Christians we cannot be made right with God, that is to say justified, without getting caught up in God’s dynamic work in the world – to restore justice. It is an offence to God to treat people unjustly – and our carbon emissions are just that: unjust. America emits 10 tonnes of carbon per person into the atmosphere, Europe five tonnes, Ethiopia 0.08 tonnes and Bangladesh 0.0024 tonnes. Where’s the justice in that?
As a senior bishop, how do you recharge your batteries, and remain passionate about justice and climate change?
Reading the Bible is very important to me. It sustains me. Nearly every day I read the gospels, to come face to face with Jesus. Since this light was switched on in my head about the environment, verses which I used to give hardly any thought to now leap off the page. I also recharge my batteries by walking my dog, praising God for the beauty of his creation.
Interview: Charlotte Ward