The UN's climate conference, COP26, will begin soon. There is huge urgency behind these talks. The climate crisis is already having a devastating effect on communities living in poverty – the people who have done the least to cause it. The time to act is now.
'If action isn't taken, by the end of this decade, 132 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty by the climate crisis,' explains Carol Ng'ang'a, who is based in Kenya and is part of Tearfund's young theologians network.
‘132 million sounds like just a number, but as we know, these numbers have names. These are our friends, these are our siblings, these are our sisters.
‘This climate change conversation has actual implications to real life people.'
A call from God
‘The climate crisis, for me, and for so many other people, our team, our neighbours, is not just an important issue but it's truly our reality,' adds Marc Antoine, who leads Tearfund's work in Haiti.
‘With the planet warming, resulting in floods, famines, fires – all the terrible things we so often see in our newspapers – and these things particularly afflicting the poorest people in our world, this really matters,' says Pete Greig, Tearfund ambassador and founder of 24/7 Prayer.
‘This is for all of us and especially for us as Christians. One of the first things that God asks us to do is to take care of the world he's made (Genesis 2:25).'
What can we do?
One of the ways we can respond to this call is through prayer. This issue can feel overwhelming. Petitioning God for world leaders to act can feel like too big an ask. But Jesus tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can tell mountains to move (Matthew 17:20).
Join us as we bring COP26 to the foot of the cross, petitioning God for decisive action to be taken by world leaders to address the climate crisis.
Pray with us
Holy God,
The earth trembles under the weight of inaction over the climate crisis – of greed and overconsumption and ignoring the suffering of our global neighbours.
We lament for not listening to your command to care for creation – we ask for your forgiveness and to help us recentre our priorities to allow this call to be an active part of our lives.
We lift up COP26 to you. We lay it at the foot of the cross and call for your will to be done.
Bless the world leaders and everyone attending, Lord. Bless them with your heart for justice. Bless them with boldness and courage to take decisive action that will care for the whole of your creation. Bless them with good relationships with each other so we can tackle this emergency together.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
