Author: Judith Russenberger

Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book.

Counting on … 185

12th November 2025

Cutting methane emissions is clearly a quick and important way of reducing the short term damaging effect of greenhouse gas emissions, but unless emissions from fossil fuels are also tackled, the climate crisis will only increase. National governments and fossil fuel companies need to legislate and implement (respectively) plans to end fossil fuel production. Yet unbelievably across the world countries are still planning to further expand fossil fuel production! 

“The increases in fossil fuel production estimated under the government plans and projections pathways would lead to global production levels in 2030 that are 500%, 31%, and 92% higher for coal, oil, and gas, respectively, than the median 1.5ºC-con­sistent pathway.” (1) 

The International Energy Agency itself reported in 2021 that there was no need for new developments: sufficient oil and gas production is already in place to meet global needs as the world transitions to renewable energy. (2)

Clearly this is an issue that needs to be addressed during COP30. 

  1. https://productiongap.org/2025report/
  2. https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/22/fossil-fuels-coal-gas-oil-extraction-climate-goals-beyond-reach?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … 184

11th November 2025

CO2 is the main GHG but methane is another, particularly potent, GHG. Methane doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere (ten to twelve years compared with hundreds or even thousands of years for carbon dioxide) but its warming effect is greater than that of carbon dioxide – as much as 80% more. (1)

40% of methane emissions are natural; 60% are manmade. Methane levels are now two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels. 

Methane levels are still rising but clearly if emissions were curtailed it would help address the short term impact of climate change and rising temperatures. Frustratingly the IEA reports that “around 40% of today’s methane emissions from fossil fuels could be avoided at no net cost” (2) Methane emissions from fossil fuels can be reduced by reducing flaring and venting and by curtailing leaks! NB Natural gas is 80-95% methane.

To date methane emissions reduction has been via voluntary pledges, which are not tackling the problem. This is something that needs to be addressed during COP30. “ Durwood Zaelke, the president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, said countries must sign a new global agreement on methane rather than sticking with the non-binding pledge. “With emissions still high, the voluntary pledge is clearly not enough to keep us from passing the fast-approaching tipping points,” he said. “We need a more muscular binding methane agreement.” (3) 

  1. https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/carbon-management-and-fossil-fuels/methane-emissions_en

(2) https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2024/key-findings

(3) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/10/rich-countries-have-lost-enthusiasm-for-tackling-climate-crisis-says-cop30-chief?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … 183

10th November 2025

COP30 starts this week in Belém, Brazil. Global greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to rise as are global temperatures. The real hope is the all the parties will agree to transition rapidly away from fossil fuels – fossil fuels are the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Unless they are eliminated, there is no way we can curb, let alone rein in, rising global temperatures and all that that will do to destroy the ecosystems in which we rely.

The main greenhouse gas, and one most easily measured, is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere keeps in heat. Without some CO2 in the atmosphere our planet would be very cold. 

CO2 levels in the atmosphere (measured in parts per million) have varied throughout geological time. This graph (1)  shows atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere over the last 800,000 years (red line). CO2 levels were lower during the ice ages, and higher during the warmer interglacial periods. During this entire era, CI2 levels never exceeded 300 PPM until the modern era. The graphic also shows the differences  global temperatures above and below the mean – the temperature anomaly.

There is a clear correlation between CO2 levels and temperature fluctuations. But more significantly the graph shows how rapidly both CO2 levels and temperatures are rising. It is a rate of change that is not due to natural deviations but to the impact of human activity. 

 (1) – https://theconversation.com/the-three-minute-story-of-800-000-years-of-climate-change-with-a-sting-in-the-tail-73368

9th November 2025

Reflection with readings below

The first chapter of the book of Haggai is set a month before today’s passage. In it Haggai is told by God that it is not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s house. But then God speaks again asking Haggai to consider the wellbeing of the people – they have planted much but harvested little; they have something to drink but not enough to satisfy their thirst; they have clothes but not enough to keep warm. And God says “Give careful thought to your ways.”

It seems that God is setting the ground – maybe enacting a parable – that challenges the people to understand that there are different ways of living. They can live according to the ways of the past, of convention, which don’t  satisfy their needs, or they can live according to the ways of God which will satisfy all their needs. And so it is in the next month that God’s word to Haggai calls on the people to restore God’s house and so restore their own well-being – and handsomely so with much wealth!

For the people of Judah, the temple was the house of God that had been destroyed by the Babylonian invaders. Now that some of those exiled to Babylon have returned to Jerusalem, the desire is to rebuild the temple. But for us in the 2st century might we rather consider the Earth as being God’s house? 

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” Acts 17:24 

And if we look at the Earth as God’s temple, do we see it as a place that has been well cared for, a place of peace and beauty? Or do we see a place that is broken and damaged, and in need of repair? 

When we look at the wellbeing of our fellow creatures (human and nonhuman)do we not see communities that do not have enough to eat and drink, that do not have adequate clothing and protection? Could that be because we are not living in accordance with God’s ways?  Are we misusing the world’s resources such that the needs of many are not satisfied? Surely it is therefore time to reassess and redirect the way we live? 

Absolutely! Time and again we hear scientists warning us that our continued use of fossil fuels and of greenhouse gas emitting practices is continuing to fuel the climate crisis. We are now on track for more than 2C of warming. This will ensure brings even more extreme weather events – droughts, storms, wild fires and hurricanes such as Melissa last week – more food shortages (over the last three years, British farmers have lost the equivalent of a year’s supply of bread because of adverse weather affecting harvests) – more deaths from excess heat, the increasing loss of species and destruction of delicate ecosystems, etc. 

We also hear social welfare and justice campaigners telling us that the gap between rich and poor is growing; that people’s lives are being diminished not because the resources aren’t there, but because they are not being made available; that they are not being shared fairly. We hear that mental ill health is rocketing;  that corporate power is trumping democracy; that the justice systems favours governments over individuals, and big businesses over everyone. Injustice is endemic world wide.

And we hear of governments ignoring the warning signs, of governments focusing on those with loudest voices, of governments focusing on the next election not our corporate long term survival. Next week COP30 begins its deliberations. Participating nations knew well in advance that they would have to come to this meeting with updated plans to reduce their national emissions in line with the net zero targets.  In fact they have known this since the  signing the Paris Agreement in 2015. Yet many have not even submitted a plan, and of those that have, none have been sufficiently ambitious to keep the world on track to avoid even a 2C rise in temperatures!

Absolutely it is time to reassess and redirect the way we live.

Haggai 1:15b-2:9

In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22

1 I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless you *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.

5 I will ponder the glorious splendour of your majesty *
and all your marvellous works.

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways *
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *
to all who call upon him faithfully.

20 He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; *
he hears their cry and helps them.

21 The Lord preserves all those who love him, *
but he destroys all the wicked.

22 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; *
let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

Life giving Spirit

8th November 2025

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Genesis 2: 7,15 (based on The Message)

God formed Human out of dirt from the ground and blew into their nostrils the breath of life. Human came alive—a living soul! God took Human and set them down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.

A reading from John 20:21-23 (The Message)

 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”

Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

A response:

Air, 

flutters in my nostrils, 

brushes my lips, 

on the tip of my tongue, 

filling my mouth

flows into my lungs – 

oxygen interchange 

recharges my blood. 

Life!

Spirit, 

flutters in my nostrils, 

brushes my lips, 

on the tip of my tongue, 

filling my mouth 

flows into my lungs – 

oxygen interchange 

recharges my soul. 

Life!

Prayers: 

Thank you for the ever renewed gift of life.

Thank you for biology and chemistry 

and physicality. 

Thank you for heart and soul 

and imagination.

Thank you for love and faith 

and compassion.

Living God,

We lay before you our own sins and short comings, 

our guilt and our stupidity.

Forgive us and relieve us of our shame. 

Help us to make recompense 

for the damage we have caused, 

to rebuild our lives and those we have afflicted.

Living God, 

We lay before you our failure 

to tend and care for the earth, 

our failure tend your plants 

and care for your creatures.

Grant us time for amendment, 

to renew and  re-wild 

to reclaim and regenerate your beautiful earth.

Living God,

We lay before you the sins of our communities

and those sins which afflict our lives. 

Bestow again your forgiveness and mercy 

and enable us to be forgiving too. 

Help us to rebuild our communities, 

to bind the wounds and heal the scars,

and to renew the bonds of kinship.

Amen.

The Grace. 

Counting on … 182

7th  November 2025

The Eat-Lancet Commission reports that report, currently the “wealthiest 30% of people drive more than 70% of food-related environmental impacts” (1) but this is not the only way that wealth and food produce inequalities. Lack of money means many people go hungry and many others cannot afford a healthy diet.

Here in the UK the Food Foundation’s research showed that 14% of households experienced food insecurity in June 2024 affecting approximately 7.2 million adults. 18% of households with children experienced food insecurity in the same period affecting an estimated 2.7 million children. Their  report, The Broken Plate, also noted that “many people in the UK lack the financial means to access decent food and that much of the food readily available and marketed to us is damaging our health and the planet.” (2) 

Further they also highlighted  that such inequalities affect not only the individual’s wellbeing but also that of their communities. “Food is a huge part of all of our lives, nourishing and fuelling us. It impacts our health, happiness and overall prosperity. But the current food system is holding our nation back. Because it is so difficult to eat healthily, poor diet is now the biggest risk for preventable disease, placing massive strain on our NHS.” (3)

Food, including food production and access to food, is a climate issue, a health issue, an economic issue as well as a justice issue.

(1) https://eatforum.org/update/eat-lancet-commission-warns-food-systems-breach-planetary-limits/

(2) https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2025

(3) https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/nourishing-nation

Counting on … 181

6th November 2025

Bang on cue! Yesterday saw the launch of a new campaign – Bang on Some Beans – to encourage us to eat more beans and pulses in the best interests of our own health and for the health of the planet. 

https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/bang-some-beans

The Guardian offers a selection of appetising recipes (although the quantities look as if they would feed many more than the recipes suggests). 

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/nov/05/magic-beans-the-protein-rich-superfood-in-a-potful-of-top-chefs-recipes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Another go to site for recipes is Hodmedod’s who are a British grown beans, pulses, grains etc. Their recipes include ones using bean flour – dried beans milled into flour are a great way to increase protein and fibre and reduce carbon hydrates and can be used in making cakes, biscuits, bread, pasta etc.

https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes

Counting on … 180

5th November 2025

The Planetary Health Diet surely offers  win win win solutions, tackling both the issues of climate change, of poor health, of social justice, and of the need for sustainable landuse. 

Climate change – reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17% (1) 

Health – lowering risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, obesity and various cancers, saving around 15,000,000 premature deaths a year (2)

Land use – by reducing the demand for meat and dairy, more land would be released for both horticulture (fruit and vegetables) and for wildlife restoration. “Widespread adoption of the diet would require a two-thirds increase in fruit, vegetable and nut production and allow for a one-third reduction in livestock meat production, compared to 2020 levels” (3)

Social justice – switching more resources from producing meat and dairy to the production of fruit, vegetables and pulses etc, would produce enough food to feed the world’s projected population of 10 billion. Although at the same time, questions of distribution (can the food be accessed?), poverty (can people afford the food?) and food waste would also need to be addressed. (4)

Why then is this diet only followed by 1% of people?

Can we as individuals help by adopting the diet ourselves, by talking about it with friends and colleagues, promoting awareness through churches, health clubs etc, by writing to local councillors and MPS?

Useful links to share re diet and planetary health 

https://youtu.be/iWHAE-mw7ao?si=XEJF0-0ciMlv10QW – This consumer-friendly video explores all the nuances of a healthy climate friendly diet and gives a clear summary

https://eatforum.org/campaign/our-cultures-our-meals-cooking-for-planetary-health/ – this web page had beautiful images of meals that match the PHD – most appetising – plus recipes here: https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/recipes/

  1. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-planetary-health-diet-emissions-environmental.pdf

(2) https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/10/06/eat-lancet-20-whats-changed/

(3) https://www.carbonbrief.org/eat-lancet-report-three-key-takeaways-on-climate-and-diet-change/

(4) https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-feed-10-billion-people

Counting on … 179

4th November 2025

Planetary Health Diet

The EAT-LancetCommission is a global, interdisciplinary group of world-leading researchers with expertise in nutrition, health, agriculture, sustainability, social justice, and policy – working together towards a healthy, sustainable, and just food system. (1) In 2019 this group’s research developed the Planetary Health Diet being a diet that is both healthier for us and for the planet.  It is a dietary outline that can be adapted to suit different cultural traditions and different social contexts – in other words it is a diet that everyone could follow with out difficulty. 

“The PHD is rich in plants: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes comprise a large proportion of foods consumed, with only moderate or small amounts of fish, dairy, and meat recommended.” (2)

This year their research was updated producing the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission Report. This report demonstrates that the PHD could both bring the human behaviour back within safe planetary boundaries as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions. 

This 2025 report outlines eight areas where transformation can lead to positive outcomes.  Protect and promote traditional healthy diets –

  • Create accessible and affordable food environments that increase demand for healthy diets
  • Implement sustainable production practices that store carbon, create habitat, and improve water quality and availability
  • Halt agricultural conversion of intact ecosystems
  • Reduce food loss and waste
  • Secure decent working conditions across the food system
  • Ensure meaningful voice and representation for food systems workers
  • Recognise and protect marginalised groups (3)
  1. https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet

(2) https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/the-planetary-health-diet/

(3) https://eatforum.org/update/eat-lancet-commission-warns-food-systems-breach-planetary-limits/

Counting on … 178

3rd November 2025

With COP30 a week away, what are the system changes we need to protect the Earth’s  planetary boundaries?

Biodiversity integrity – life forms in all their variety are key to our wellbeing and survival. We re reliant on functioning ecosystems for clean air and water, for food and medicines, for clothing and shelter. And functioning ecosystems depend on there being both a diversity of and a sufficient number of, plants, animals, insects, bacteria etc. For example, without fungi and earth worms, plant roots, decaying leaves etc the fertility of the soil will be depleted and food supplies diminished. 

We humans, through both excessive use of some resources and through a failure to conserve others, have so diminished the integrity of the Earth’s biodiversity framework, that it is now in the danger zone: that planetary boundary has been exceeded. It is something that has been apparent for years, and in 2022 the nations of the world drew up the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity framework outlining how the Earth’s biodiversity could be restored. From this agreement came the undertaking that nations would by 2030 restore and protect the biodiversity of 30% of the land and of the seas in their control.(1) This is an ambitious target given how reluctant people and organisations are to change the way they live and do business. It is an issue that needs to be kept at the top of the agenda for all international and national decision makers. In a recent blog, it was noted that the “the impact of biodiversity risks to the UK economy and financial institutions are equal or greater than climate risks.” (2)

  1. https://www.unep.org/resources/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework

(2) https://blog.actuaries.org.uk/2025/9/nature-at-risk-models-at-fault-why-biodiversity-cant-wait/

Further info on the importance of biodiversity – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-60823267