Tag: government

Counting on … day 13

17th January 2025

It is not just businesses that need to change, government also needs to use its power to change the system. “We need the Government to stop tinkering with measures that create tiny insignificant changes and tackle single use waste in the way they finally tackled smoking, helping to make our public spaces litter free as well as smoke free.  That requires putting in place systems which significantly disincentivise single-use and makes reuse a convenient and viable option for both businesses and consumers.” (1)

  1. https://www.refill.org.uk/about/what-is-reuse/

Prayers following a general election

6th July 2024

 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

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 Matthew 25: 31- 45 

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,  and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”  Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”  And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;  for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”  Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?”  Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” 


Loving God 

who called upon the first humans

to care and nurture all that had been created,

we ask your blessing on those we have elected 

to create a new government to direct the ways of this nation.

Bless those we have elected with compassion 

that they will be mindful always of those in need.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. 


Bless those we have elected with kindness 

that they will look upon everyone they serve with love.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. 


Bless those we have elected with humility 

that they will not consider themselves more important than those they serve.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. 


Bless those we have elected with meekness 

that they will not be swayed by powerful interests.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. 


Bless those we have elected with patience 

that they will not use short term popularity to divert them from long term needs.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. 


Bless those of us who have been the electorate 

that we will do all that is within our power 

to enable that rule that brings about your kingdom of love 

here on earth as in heaven.

Amen.

Counting on …. Day 119

5th July 2024

A momentous change of government that will hopefully lead to a momentous change in the culture in which live and work, away from the focus on ‘me and my wealth’ and towards one which focuses on ‘us and are communal wellbeing’ where there is care and justice for all. The role of government is demanding and we should do all we can to support our MPs, to pray for them, to thank them for their work and, at the same time, to keep them focused on what is important for our communal wellbeing.  
Every time we pray ‘Your kingdom come’ – by which we are inviting God’s rule and reign to prevail on earth – we will be reminded of this.

Counting on …. Day 1.145

10th August 2023

This I feel is worth sharing and comes from Public and Commercial Services Union whose members mainly work in government departments and other public bodies.

“Our members are civil servants who are committed to serving the public. This means they will not provide inaccurate or misleading information to the public, and that policy decisions should be grounded in the best available evidence. These values are grounded in the Civil Service Code. 

If the Prime Minister was a civil servant he would stand in gross breach of that Code as his announcement is not routed in evidence and is in fact misleading. It is not possible to ‘max’ out gas and oil exploration in the North Sea and claim you are heading for net zero. 

“In the face of a climate crisis that is destroying crops and killing people worldwide, forcing many to flee their homes as they face floods and wildfires, PCS choses to call out the Prime Minister on this line that continued extraction of fossil fuels is the best decision for the security of the UK, or the world. We will continue to campaign that that this government, and indeed any future ones, stand by international and domestic climate change commitments. Therefore, we ask that the Government reconsider its decision to issue new oil and gas licenses.”

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/news/efra-group-statement-new-oil-gas-licenses

Counting on …. Day 1.120

8th July 2023

Them Climate Change Committee has this week produced its annual Progress Report to Parliament – https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/2023-progress-report-to-parliament/

The CCC notes that whilst UK greenhouse gas emissions have  fallen 46% from 1990 levels this is well short of the 68% by 2030 target agreed at COP26. The reeducation in emissions will have to increase fourfold to meet this target.  

“Time is now very short to achieve this change of pace. Glimmers of the Net Zero transition can be seen in growing sales of new electric cars and the continued deployment of renewable capacity, but the scale up of action overall is worryingly slow. The Government continues to place their reliance on technological solutions that have not been deployed at scale, in preference to more straightforward encouragement of people to reduce high-carbon activities. The Committee has again flagged the risks of a policy programme that amongst other things is too slow to plant trees and roll-out heat pumps.”

Can we count on  this government and the next to fully address these issues? Can we increase the pressure on government and businesses to act? 

Counting on …. Day 1.105

29th April 2023

There is much disinformation around suggesting that either the climate crisis is not real/ not serious, or that the government is doing all that is necessary to contain the crisis. However this is not the case.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is in the process of producing a report which will detail how far or not the nations of the world are achieving the necessary reduction in carbon emissions to prevent global temperatures rising above the 1.5C tipping point. Their latest interim report says there has been “significant yet inadequate collective progress”.
What this means is that “[O]n both the cutting emissions and adaptating fronts, it says not only that the current plans are insufficient. But there are even problems in translating this inadequate ambition into real action, the so-called implementation gap.”

What is the global stocktake of climate action and why does it matter?