16 April 2009
This week saw the announcement that the population of the Carteret Islands, near Papua New Guinea, are the first entire people to be evacuated because of man-made changes in the climate.
With rising sea levels, their drinking water and crops are now poisoned by salt and one island has been cut in half by the waves. The 1,000 islanders are now being evacuated and their homes abandoned.
As the news broke, governments were meeting in Bonn to continue UN negotiations on a new climate treaty, with the aim of reaching agreement at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December.
Tearfund plays an important role in the talks – lobbying governments to make sure the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable communities are heard – supported by the prayers and concern of the global church.
December talks
Sara Shaw, Tearfund’s Climate Change Policy Officer, says, ‘We urgently need a tough and fair deal that drastically cuts the emissions of rich countries and provides adequate finance to help developing countries adapt to climate change and develop using clean green technology.
‘But, at the moment, rich countries seem reluctant to show leadership despite bearing a heavy responsibility for causing climate change and having the most resources to tackle the problem.’
For those living on the Carteret Islands it is too late to save their homes, but the lives and livelihoods of millions will depend on whether a good deal is agreed in December.
• Pray for the many sessions of negotiations in the run up to December – that God will break in to this slow process and the needs of poor communities are prioritised.
• Pray for Tearfund partners and staff as they seek to influence the process by lobbying and campaigning, that they would have the opportunity to speak prophetically to world leaders.
• Pray for the people of the Carteret Islands as they leave their homes and livelihoods, to adapt and resettle in their new home.