climate crisis – Page 3

Counting on … Day 50

28th April 2025

The ‘silent majority’ – those who believe that the climate crisis is serious but yet do nothing – covers 89% of the population globally (1)

If that group could be persuaded or enabled to take action, the consequences would be dramatic. What holds people back is

* a fear of impotence (what I do won’t make a difference),

* a fear of social isolation (people won’t respect what I do and may mock me)

* a fear of loosing out (if I change, my standard of living will drop vis a vis my peers)

* lack of social and economic support (I can’t make any change because the system is set against it eg I can’t give up driving because there is no local reliable/ affordable public transport).

And given all the above, there is an equally important question ‘What should I do and where should I start?’ which can feel so overwhelming that doing nothing seems a reasonable response.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/22/activate-climate-silent-majority-support-supercharge-action?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Green Tau: issue 104

Reshaping how we can talk positively about the climate crisis – part 3: Finance

April 2025

How can we talk about the climate crisis in a way that sounds encouraging?

The climate crisis is an existential threat which is certainly not good news. Its causes and impact are diverse and numerous such that it is hard to pin down ‘This is the cause’ or ‘This is the solution’. It is hard to quantify ‘This is how it will effect you’ and ‘This will be the time table.’

All this makes it difficult to find a way of talking to people about the crisis and how we might respond.

So here are some thoughts that might help.

Finance for a Better Future

We are told that one of the most effective ways of tackling climate change is to redirect the money that funds climate damaging industries such as oil and gas production . Make My Money has campaigned on this issue with both humour (short films and ) and straightforward facts and graphics:

“All of these banks refuse to stop funnelling money to the companies pumping new fossil fuels.

They each talk about climate change, but we need less talk and more action on what really matters:

* Immediately stop providing money to new clients who are involved in expanding fossil fuel operations

* End the flow of new money to existing fossil fuel clients who won’t stop the expansion of fossil fuel operations and haven’t published credible plans aligned to a 1.5 degree global warming limit
* Set out a clear timeline for cutting ties with existing clients that continue to expand fossil fuel operations”

Go Green: Switch to a Fossil-free Bank

But despite the ease with which we can switch banks, many of us haven’t bothered to take this simple action. Perhaps because there is no immediately visible result. Stop driving to the shops and you straight away see the benefit of not having to refuel your car. Switch your bank and there is no noticeable reduction in oil production, no financial gain. And anyway aren’t high street customers mere minnows in an ocean of big financial organisations?

Is it also that with banking we see ourselves as customers buying a service, not as patrons providing banks with money and probity? Banks like – need – to be seen as upright, trustworthy and moral institutions: people with whom you can safely entrust your money. That is part of the reason that banks will sponsor sporting and cultural events – it improves their perceived reputation as ‘responsible’ companies. And that is why groups have campaigned against such greenwashing bank relationships eg Barclays and Wimbledon Lawn Tennis/ Live Nation music festivals/ National Trust/ Sadler’s Wells.

Turning the situation round, should we be actively expecting our bank – the bank we support with our money and our patronage – to demonstrate how it is using its financial clout to create better world? By way of example let’s look at Triodos. Triodos scored the top mark in a recent survey by Ethical Consumer, scoring 96 out of a possible 100 points. The big five high street banks – Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Santander and Barclays scored 6 or less. (1)

Triodos does not provide finance for fossil fuels, nor fast fashion, nor weapons and warfare, nor gambling. Triodos does provide finance for renewable energy, nature restoration, healthcare, art and culture: “We believe it’s not enough to avoid funding harmful practices, so we actively support those building a better tomorrow. Our commitment goes beyond avoiding harmful investments. We proactively seek out and support initiatives that contribute to a sustainable future, ensuring that every loan and investment aligns with our mission.” (2)

For example, “Ember, the UK’s first all-electric intercity bus operator, has increased its fleet of zero emission coaches with a £5.6m loan from Triodos Bank UK. The electric coach operator, based in Scotland, has a fleet of vehicles designed specifically for intercity travel. These buses are zero-emission, contributing to environmental sustainability by reducing carbon footprints and improving urban air quality.” (3)

Triodos also finances “Copeland Park … a social, cultural and creative hub in Peckham, an area of London that is becoming increasingly known as a haven for artistic individuals and collectives. At Copeland Park, traditional warehouses and industrial buildings have been transformed into workspace for a number of creative businesses. The historic Bussey Building, for example, now provides a home for artists’ studios, theatre groups, live music venues, fitness studios and faith groups – along with incomparable views of London.”

In Wandsworth “Beyond Autism seeks to improve the education and health of children diagnosed with autism and/or related communication disorders. A loan from Triodos Bank allowed Beyond Autism to purchase their facility.”

On Mull “NWMCWC was set up by the local community in 2006 to purchase and manage the Langamull and West Ardhu forests in North West Mull. With 2 Triodos loans, we were able to help with a variety of projects, including helping with the construction of a woodshed for timber felled at the woodland.”

And in Wales “NWMCWC was set up by the local community in 2006 to purchase and manage the Langamull and West Ardhu forests in North West Mull. With 2 Triodos loans, we were able to help with a variety of projects, including helping with the construction of a woodshed for timber felled at the woodland.” (4)

In addition Triodos does not use its profits to pay bonuses to its staff. Rather “Triodos believe all our workers should be paid fairly and our focus should be on impact – for the whole Triodos community.” (2)

Choosing – switching to – an ethical banking really does enable our money to create a better future, and can do so in a clearly transparent way, such that we can be proud of what our patronage can achieve.

The following websites help individuals switch to ethical banks:-

https://www.switchit.green/

The Big Bank Switch

(1) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/money-finance/shopping-guide/current-accounts

NB the other banks recommended in the Ethical Consumer report included Coop Bank/ Smile, Cumberland Building Society, and Nationwide, all scoring 70 or more.

(2) https://www.triodos.co.uk/your-money-has-power

(3) https://www.triodos.co.uk/articles/2024/powering-sustainable-travel-with-ember

(4) https://www.triodos.co.uk/know-where-your-money-goes

Lament for the sorrows of the world

7th July 2023

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

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: Exodus 3:1-7

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings…’

Response
Great and awesome God,

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

We lay before you the sorrows of the world:

Soldiers and civilians killed in war,

police and rioters caught in the crossfire of inequality

refugees risking death to seek a safer life,

lives lost in floods and heatwaves.

Lord have mercy:

and hear our prayer.

Great and awesome God,

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

We lay before you the sorrows of the world:

Rivers drained by drought,

glaciers and ice caps carved away by heat,

burning tundra and wild fires,

coral reefs bleached by heat stress.

Lord have mercy:

and hear our prayer.

Great and awesome God,

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

We lay before you the sorrows of the world:

Livelihoods gone because of rising fuel prices,

harvests lost as rainfall diminishes,

futures destroyed by armed conflict,

lives lost through lack of medical attention.

Lord have mercy:

and hear our prayer.

Great and awesome God,

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

We lay before you the sorrows of the world:

Wildlife made homeless by forest clearance,

migrating birds dying from heat exhaustion,

bees and butterflies poisoned by pesticides,

marine ecosystems decimated by over fishing.

Lord have mercy:

and hear our prayer.

Great and awesome God,

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

We lay before you the sorrows of the world:

Political intransigence that leaves people powerless,

broken promises that relegate the needs of biodiversity,

half-baked measures that ignore the vulnerable,

taxes that reward the rich and take from the poor.

Lord have mercy:

and hear our prayer.

Holy and loving God,

comfort us when we are overwhelmed,

reassure us when we feel helpless,

inspire us when we lack hope

and empower us when we can make a difference.

Amen.

The Grace

Green Tau: issue 102

Reshaping how we can talk positively about the climate crisis – part 2: Buildings

February 2025

How can we talk about the climate crisis in a way that sounds encouraging?

The climate crisis is an existential threat which is certainly not good news. Its causes and impact are diverse and numerous such that it is hard to pin down ‘This is the cause’ and ‘This is the solution’. It is hard to quantify ‘This is how it will effect you’ and ‘This will be the time table.’

All this makes it difficult to find a way of talking to people about the crisis and how we might respond.

So here are some thoughts that might help.

Warmer – and cooler – homes!

Improved insulation for domestic and other buildings makes them more comfortable for occupants and reduces the costs of heating/ cooling. Studies show that all houses built before 1990, and 75% of those built before 2010, have inadequate insulation which means that both the country will struggle to reach net zero and occupiers will either be paying unnecessarily high heating bills and/ or living in cold damp conditions. For January 2023 the Resolution Foundation estimated that “families in energy-inefficient homes will be facing monthly gas bills £231 higher than those who live in equivalent homes that already meet the Government’s efficiency target (EPC C).” https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/cutting-back-to-keep-warm/

Ensuring all buildings – not just domestic ones, but office buildings, schools, prisons, hospitals etc – will benefit occupants (making their environment comfortable and healthy) and reduce running costs.

Well insulated buildings offer all year round comfort and benefit everyone.

https://www.constructioncarbon.com/articles/how-well-insulated-are-british-homes

Sustainable buildings

Buildings themselves can contribute to a better environment for us all. Installing solar panels on roofs and elsewhere – eg over car and cycle parks, on top of bus shelters etc – can boost energy production and provide locally based energy without the need for substations and long distance power lines. They can also be a source of local community income. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65626371

Installing water butts, grey water systems, SUDs (surface urban drainage) that absorb rainfall, are all easy ways of reducing flooding and pollution risks. Such things are most economically included at the design stage but can still justifiably be added as a retrofit. https://www.susdrain.org/

https://www.meristemdesign.co.uk/product/suds-planters/

New buildings can be designed with over hanging eves and recessed windows to increase shading against summer heat and also helping to shelter the building from heavy rain and wind. Retrospectively verandas and sun shades can be added or plants trained up the sides of buildings and across pergolas to create a similar outcome. https://www.solinear.co.uk/the-ultimate-guide-to-external-solar-shading-solutions-in-the-uk/

Trees can be planted nearby to provide shade from the sun, cooling via respiration from their leaves, and at the same time reducing flooding risks as their leaves and roots slow the flow of water and increase absorption in the earth beneath.

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/cooling-effect-trees-and-green-spaces-cities

Plant trees to help protect London from climate change flood risk

Sustainable buildings are also ones that have a long life. Keeping buildings in good repair prolongs their life, creates employment and ensures that the buildings remain comfortable and safe for their occupants.

Buildings designed and maintained for sustainability provide comfortable, safe and healthy places, and

Proper 4, 4th Sunday before Lent

9th February 2025

Reflection with readings below

God has created a world that is continually evolving. It is network of changing ecosystems inhabited by an infinite variety of species. Amongst these humans stand out for their capacity reshape the world. The writers of scriptures have known for millennia that humans have the ability to act for good or for ill. A passage in Deuteronomy tells the people that they can chose to do what is right and enjoy fruitful and joyous lives, or they can chose to do what is wrong and suffer lives of destruction and misery. And the situation hasn’t changed.

Today’s readings tell how God – aware of human frailties – time and again calls on individuals to proclaim God’s wisdom, God’s gospel of salvation, to the peoples of the world. God’s call to Isaiah

was dramatic and profound. The message Isaiah was called to speak was at a time of great tension and threat. It was not an easy message to proclaim, nor was it easy to hear. In fact the people chose to close their ears and ignore God’s warnings. Catastrophe followed.

Paul was clearly aware of the importance of the message he had to share, and equally clear that his role as a chosen messenger was not based on any merit on his part but purely on the grace of God. In fact Isaiah had shared the same sense of inadequacy. And Simon Peter too.

But whereas Isaiah’s encounter with God was full of awe and wonder, smoke and angels, Simon Peter’s boarders on the mundane. He was doing nothing more than his usually daily job. The unexpected catch of fish was certainly amazing but not out of this world. Yet the call, his encounter with Jesus, struck him to his core and was absolutely life changing. Now he was to use his skills for a different task, that of reaching out to and drawing in his fellow humankind, to allow them to encounter Jesus and to take on board a new way of living – the way of the Gospel, the way of God’s wisdom.

Here we are two millennia later. The world is in a vulnerable place and now – as always – people need to hear the word of God, to hear the wisdom that will lead them to choose the way of right living, of fruitfulness and joy.

And we are the people who must speak!

What must we say, what must we proclaim as the word of God to the world?

That we face an existential crisis of our own (human) making.

We have pumped so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (as well as other greenhouse gases) principally through burning fossil fuels at ever increasing rates. The warming effect on the atmosphere has already activating tipping points and feed back loops which are accelerating the impact. We’re seeing year on year increases in temperatures that are exceeding the expectations of the scientists; we’re seeing increasingly frequent and intense adverse weather events – floods, droughts, wildfire, storms, heat domes; we’re seeing melting glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and more frequent land and mud slides. We’re seeing the slowing of the Atlantic Meridian Overturning Current. When this current fails to circulate hot and cold waters, we in the UK will find ourselves in a land that has a climate compatible with that in Greenland. At the same time UK’s land area will be shrinking as sea levels rise by 50-70cm. This, on the present trajectory, will happen in the life time of children who have already been born. This is going to be the probably scenario they will face as they enter the job market and – perhaps – choose whether or not to become parents themselves.

We cannot prevent all of the adverse effects of the crisis – many are already baked in. But we can yet limit the worst impacts, we can protect against the most adverse consequences, we can help one another to live as safely and as comfortably as possible, but – and this is a big BUT – only if we act now on the science we have. Only if we act now for the common good – that is for the good of everyone with equality and justice – and not allow the interests of a minority to take precedence.

We need to engage the attention and the commitment of governments and organisations, of companies and and trade groups, of workers and investors, of social groups and individuals.

We have to act now. We have to act with urgency. We need to make substantial step changes so that we are more than half way to our goals of global sustainability in the next five years. We should write to our MPs, to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, and Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy security and net zero. We should seek out campaigns and support them, sign petitions, boycott those companies that are supporting the continued expansion of fossil fuels. We should review our financial arrangements – do our banks, insurers, pension providers etc support fossil fuels industries? We should look at our own lifestyles – are we walking the talk? We should be looking out for groups and communities being marginalised and penalised by the climate crisis and the failure to make a just transition to a sustainable world.

This is the gospel message: we need to love our neighbours as ourselves – not just the neighbour next door, but the neighbours in the next town, across the next boarder, and in the farthest parts of the globe. We need to tend and care for the planet knowing that it is the unique common home that God created for us. We need to love God with our whole being because it is that love that will motivate us to act.

Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” And he said, “Go and say to this people:

`Keep listening, but do not comprehend;

keep looking, but do not understand.’

Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,

so that they may not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,

and comprehend with their minds,
and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said:

“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,

and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;

until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.

Even if a tenth part remain in it,
it will be burned again,

like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.”

The holy seed is its stump.

Psalm 138

1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
before the gods I will sing your praise.

2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name, *
because of your love and faithfulness;

3 For you have glorified your Name *
and your word above all things.

4 When I called, you answered me; *
you increased my strength within me.

5 All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, *
when they have heard the words of your mouth.

6 They will sing of the ways of the Lord, *
that great is the glory of the Lord.

7 Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *
he perceives the haughty from afar.

8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.

9 The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *
O Lord, your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you–unless you have come to believe in vain.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them–though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Prayers for Candlemas

1st February 2025

“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6

You Lord are the light of the world:

help us to see.

Your word is a light for our path:

guide us in all we do.

Whatever we say or do:

let it be to the glory of God.

A reading from Luke 2: 29- 35

“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,

as you have promised.

I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.

He is a light to reveal God to the nations,

and he is the glory of your people Israel.”

Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Response:

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the tops of the mountains where the glaciers are fast disappearing?

Will it follow the rivers that flow down from the mountains?

Will it light upon the people who rely on the river for their livelihoods?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the depths of the earth where conglomerates mine for minerals and riches?

Will it reach the depth of the oceans where conglomerates drill for oil and gas?

Will it follow the flow of money that skips lightly past those who labour,

and fills the ever deepening pockets of the wealthy?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it reach the verdant understory deep within the rainforests?

Or will it find that space already punctured by sugar and soy plantations?

Will it be embraced by a rich biodiverse ecosystem –

or will it search desperately for indigenous lives that are no more?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it glitter on the vast whiteness of the poles?

Or will it sink into the void that melting ice has left behind?

Will it bring life to the Arctic tern and the walrus?

Will it be a ray of light for the penguin chick and the polar bear cub?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will reach inside apartment blocks split open by bombs?

Will it reach inside the ‘temporary’ abodes of the refugee camp?

Will it reach inside those precarious homes where the need for heat

faces a constant battle with the need to eat?

Will it spotlight communities in need of levelling up?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

For the times we have masked your light so that its message is obscured:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refocused your light away from those in need:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have directed your light away from our own shortcomings:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refused to see where your light is pointing:

Lord have mercy.

Renew in us your spark that we may be visible agents of your Kingdom and active agents of your purpose.

Amen.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Green Tau: 102

31st January 2025

Why protesting about protest is important!

Over a thousand people sat in the road outside the Royal Courts of Justice to protest at the deliberate diminution of the right to protest in the UK. Inside the Courts an appeal was being heard brought by 16 climate protesters challenging the severity of the sentences they had been given.

As we sat in silence on the road in three orderly lines back to back, police offices walked up and down the lines, stopping to address individuals asking them to move. ‘We recognise your right to protest but this is a live road’. ‘What can we do to make you move?’ ‘Please move to the designated protest area in between the church of St Clement Dane and the court house’. ‘A section 14 notice may be imposed on this section of road and then we may arrest you’. ‘You might spend hours in a police cell.’

This was a silent vigil so most chose not to respond to the police. Instead maintaining the silence with eyes downcast, we resolutely continued to sit in the road.

Yes we were blocking the road. Yes we were preventing vehicles from using that section. Why? Because – yes – this was a protest. And what is a protest if it does not cause some degree of disruption?

The reason for any protest is to raise awareness – to draw people’s attention – to an issue in order to effect change. This the protest was about the failure of the system to allow justifiable and reasonable protest.

Over the last few years the right to protest has been has been crushed and demonised by the government through new laws, by judges through punitive interpretation of laws and sentencing guidelines, and by corporate interests through their ability to drop quiet words into significant ears, and their ability to afford the cost of legal actions and injunctions.

Where once walking peacefully along a street was considered a valid means of protest, it is now designated as ‘public nuisance’. Where once sitting and blocking a road was considered a valid means of protest, it is now designated as a ‘disruption of national infrastructure’. Have we reached a situation where you can only protest by staying quietly on the pavement, well away from anyone or anything you might disrupt?

Protest is meant to disrupt. It is meant to irritate. It is there to draw attention to a situation that needs to change. Yes, protest has to be proportionate. Yes, protest has to target the appropriate audiences. Yes, protest has to be based on valid claims.

The climate crisis is the biggest existential crisis that we humans have ever faced. A delayed car journey diminishes into insignificance compared with the potential loss of life of millions of people.

The climate crisis has no favourites, it can and will continue to affect us all. There is no audience that can argue that it doesn’t threaten them.

The climate crisis is a scientifically hypothesised, modelled and proven crisis. There is no valid data that proves otherwise.

And yet since the rise of Extinction Rebellion in 2018, and subsequent groups such as Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, governments, judges and the Criminal Prosecution Service have gone out of their way in refuting that the actions being taking by these groups represents genuine protest.

Protesting about the right to protest is vitally important in an era when we face not only the existential crisis of climate change but also the threat of oppressive right wing politics that is beginning to dominate the world.

Green Tau: issue 101

Reshaping how we can talk positively about the climate crisis – part 1: energy security

10th January 2025

How can we talk about the climate crisis in a way that sounds encouraging?

All this makes it difficult to find a way of talking to people about the crisis and how we might respond.

So here are some thoughts that might help.

Energy security.

1. At the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine we were worried that we would not have enough energy (ie oil and gas from Russia) to keep power stations and industries running. There was a fear that the lights might go out. There is always going to be a energy security risk when we are reliant on an imported fuel. Despite what the government may suggest, the oil and gas supplies in the North Sea are insufficient to meet current needs, and the business arrangement is such that any North Sea oil and gas we use, has to be bought in the international market at the going rate. There are no special deals for UK customers. How much better then if we could obtain all our energy from home produced renewable sources – wind, solar, tidal. That surely would be a better definition of secure energy.

Any projects that involve increasing our renewable energy capacity are good news stories. This includes not just wind turbines and solar panels, but also the grid infrastructure need to distribute the energy.

For more info – https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/sites/bartlett_sustainable/files/isr_141123_energy_security_-_a_sustainable_strategy_for_the_uk.pdf

2. Community energy projects enable communities to invest in and benefit from local energy production be that a wind turbine or turbines, solar panels on community rooves, or hydro power from a river or tide. New legislation is being introduced that would enable communities to benefit directly from selling their energy (under existing rules communities – and individuals – have to seek to one of the electricity producers). Community energy projects can give local populations greater energy security and to benefit directly from cheaper energy bills – this may be the compensating factor that outweighs local reluctance to the expansion of wind farms etc.

For more info – (re rural communities) https://www.cpre.org.uk/discover/why-we-love-community-energy/

(re urban communities) https://www.communityenergy.london/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Cities-and-Community-Energy-in-England-FINAL-combined.pdf

3. There is a counter argument that renewable energy doesn’t provide security because we could have a run of windless, sunless days (which do happen as we have seen recently). Batteries are the obvious answer, combined with price tariffs that encourage consumers to use less when generation is low, and to use – or store – energy when generation is high. These will need to be used in conjunction with ‘large scale electricity storage’ which would involve using excess power to create hydrogen which would then be stored in salt mines. (For more details see https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/large-scale-electricity-storage/large-scale-electricity-storage-policy-briefing.pdf)

Improvements in battery technology are good news stories. Batteries also give individual households as well as business units, schools, hospitals etc immediate energy security. There are genuine concerns about the environmental and social costs of some of the minerals needed to make batteries. Current research is developing a sodium battery that uses salt, which is widely available, rather than rare and expensive lithium.

For more info – https://www.field.energy/views/energy-security-how-battery-storage-helps-keep-the-lights-on

Energy costs

Energy security is linked to energy costs. If energy costs are so high as to preclude people being able to afford it, then their energy supply is not secure. The outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine triggered a rapid rise in the cost of energy initially rising by around 40%, 130% and 180% for oil, coal and gas. The prices of these fossil fuels are determined by global commodity markets so everyone is susceptible to the prices hikes. Renewable energies on the other hand reflect local factors – although the cost and availability of key materials such as steel, will have an impact on the building of, for example, new wind turbines, and the relative prices charged for renewable energy and fossil fuels will impact investment decisions.

By and large renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuel energy – although currently in the UK a levy is charged on energy costs to cover the cost of transitioning to renewable energy, and (bizarrely) this adds more to the cost of electricity that it does to gas (16% of the final price of electricity and 5.5% of the final price of gas). https://www.nesta.org.uk/household-energy-bills-green-levies/

Going on into the future renewable energy will continue to fall in real terms whilst the cost of fossil energy will rise. By offering affordable energy, renewables will continue to offer energy security.

First Sunday after Christmas

29th December 2024

Reflection with readings below

In some churches this day celebrates the Holy Family. Together Mary, Joseph and Jesus are the Holy Family. Together with us, they are also God’s Family. The family is what is shown to been important in keeping the young Jesus safe in the face of adversity.

In Luke’s Gospel, the family has stuck together as Joseph has taken Mary and their as yet to be born child all the way from Nazareth in the north to Bethlehem in the south to comply with new government regulations. Like many regulations, it has not been well thought through and its implementation has caused temporary housing problems for many. Joseph and Mary settle in to shared temporary accommodation and it is in that place that Jesus is born.

In Matthew’s Gospel insecurity takes another form. While Herod is massacring the toddlers of Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph are fleeing across the border to Egypt with the child Jesus. Did the gifts of the magi proved timely as a ready source of cash to assist this unplanned departure to a new, and possibly impermanent, home?

In each scenario the family remains together and takes strength and guidance from listening to God.

In today’s gospel we have another account of a family event involving Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Now Jesus, whilst still a junior, is of an age to have his own ideas and his own views about the world, and he chooses to explore these with the elders in the temple. They are intrigued and impressed by what he has to say. But is this adults being impressed by the naive and idealistic sincerity of a child who has not yet learnt to understand the ways of the ‘real’ world? For a couple of decades later these temple elders are going to derided and lambast the words that Jesus speaks.

Is this the same response we see from those in authority who smile at children holding up placards that say ‘There’s no planet B!’ and ‘Allow me to have a future!’ The same authorities who keep on funding fossil fuels when they should be funding renewables, who let their ears be bent by meat giants when they should be listening to the scientists?

Jesus knew that the temple was his Father’s house just as much as he knew his home was in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. Children know that this world is their home – our common home – just as much as the place where they live with their immediate family is also home. Children may have a simplistic view of life but it can be a simplicity that cuts to the core of the problem. There is no planet B: if we do not act urgently and at scale, this planet is going to turn into

a very unsafe home to live in. We need those in authority – governments and commercial enterprises – to act now! To cut carbon emissions to net zero, to drastically cut methane emissions, to shift their financial clout to ensure a just transition, to enhance biodiversity, to support vulnerable communities already facing the adverse effects of the crisis, and to be honest in listening to those most at risk.

As an addendum, the gospel also highlights that families are not a rigid combination of one mother, one father plus children. Families can include various father and mother figures. Indeed the writers pre-Jesus described God as being like a mother, like a midwife, and even, like a scorned husband. Perhaps what really makes a family is the quality of the relationships they share.

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,

and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,

young men and women,
old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.

And he has raised up for his people a horn,
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.

Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Luke 2:41-52

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Green Tau: issue 99

9th December 2024

How we can make a just transition?

Globally we know we have to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – at the latest – if we are to curb the inexorable rise in temperatures, the associated increase in extreme weather events and any of the various tipping ecological points that would accelerate this process.

Here in the UK our government has set a target of reducing emissions by 68% (compared with 1990 values) by 2030 and by 81% by 2035 and ultimately by 100% by 2050.

To achieve these targets we need to reduce sharply our use of fossil fuels to heat our buildings (including cooling in the summer), to run our transport systems (vehicles, trains, airplanes etc), to generate electricity, and in various industrial processes such as making steel.

Such changes will impact is all. For householders it will include having to add more insulation to their homes and replacing gas boilers with electrically based heating. And for tenants, hopefully such alterations will be carried out by their landlords. For commercial and institutional buildings there will equally be the need to replace gas with electric heating and cooling systems, as well as upgrading thermal insulation. Such buildings may well have the scope to install solar panels and batteries so that they can generate their own electricity. The managers of such buildings may also want to reflect on how staff, users and customers travel to and from their premises to enable these to become more sustainable in their use of energy.

For car drivers it will be switching to electric cars or, even better, switching to public transport and active travel. For delivery drivers it will be switching to cycles for small, local loads and electric vehicles for larger ones. For the railway it will be investing in further electrification of the rail network and potentially developing battery units for short, smaller capacity branch lines. For airlines it must mean reducing the number of flights as there really is no green alternative to aviation fuel, although for short flights serving outlying islands battery planes may be a developmental opportunity.

For the energy sector, it will include continuing to develop and expand renewable energy sources (solar, wind and tidal) to provide all the extra green electricity that will be needed by other sectors, and to provide the necessary infrastructure to support that and to enable individual households, businesses and communities to develop their own generation capacity.

For industrial processes it will be switching to new methods of production such as using electric arc furnaces for steel making and for cement production developing new chemical formulations that avoid releasing large amounts of CO2.

These changes will also have impacts on jobs with some people needing to retrain for new careers – for example oil rig workers retraining to build and maintain offshore wind turbines, car workers might switch to building public transport rolling stock, airline staff might switch to working in the rail industry, blast furnace workers might retrain as installers of heat pumps and thermal insulation, or switch to manufacturing double glazing units, solar panels, and wind turbines etc.

These changes will need considerable financial investment, which must mean shifting money currently invested in supporting carbon intensive industries and projects, to these low carbon sustainable alternatives. And this will mean a shift in thinking by those who work in the financial markets – bankers, financiers, investment managers, pensions and insurance fund managers, etc.

These changes will also need government support, both in terms of legislation that will deliberately shift markets in the right direction, and in terms of subsidies, switching these away from carbon intensive industries and towards the green alternatives. And this will be a key role in achieving the carbon emission targets. Our capitalistic economic system is not well equipped to create the change we need. It is not well equipped to reflect the risks and damage caused by carbon intensive industries and products. Nor is it well equipped to ensure that those responsible for the damage already caused should pay for all necessary remedial and restorative action.

Earlier this week – 5th December – Shell and Equinor announced a plan to combine their operations in the North Sea to more effectively extract the remaining oil and gas reserves for ‘decades’ to come! This would ensure their continuing profit levels and in particular share dividends. How can it be economic to extract more carbon emitting oil and gas over those very same decades when we as a nation – and globally – are struggling to reduce our carbon emissions to net zero?

And how can it be that our government will provide subsidies to these oil companies to enable them to develop these projects? It is calculated that with tax breaks and subsidies, the UK could pay upward of 90p in the pound for the cost of developing the Rosebank oil field.

And how can it be that these oil companies can talk about – and use this in their advertising – that they are maintaining the UK’s energy security, and that they are keeping homes warm – and neglecting to point out that the cost of what they provide is at an increasing to customers and the environment – as if only gas and oil could achieve energy security?

What we need for a just transition is:

proactive action taken by the government to create and safeguard a transition via legislation that is fair to the working population, that is fair to householders, and that ensures a level and consistent playing field for businesses
Proactive action taken by the government to redirect subsidies so that they support and enhance the transition to renewables and ensure that the price to the consumer is affordable in the short term. (In the long term re-newables will be cheaper)
Proactive action by the financial world to shift finances from the old carbon intensive industries to the growing low carbon, sustainable ones
Proactive action by companies and organisations to ensure their operations are shifting at pace to achieve net zero.

A key part in this transition can be found in the Climate and Nature Bill – the CAN Bill – which is a private member’s bill that is currently making its way through Parliament. We can show our support for this via the Zero Hours web page and by asking our individuals MPs to back the bill when it comes for its second reading on 24th January – https://www.zerohour.uk/climate-and-nature-bill/

For more information

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/05/shell-and-equinor-to-merge-uk-north-sea-oil-and-gas-assets?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/equinor-shell-form-jointly-owned-oil-gas-producer-britain-2024-12-05/

https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/updates/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-rosebank-oil-field

https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022/energy-security-in-energy-transitions