Weekly Green Tau

Counting on …day 1.213

10th November 2023

A Rocha reminds us: ‘Prepare now and give a bird a home in 2024. It might seem to be a strange time to be thinking about bird boxes, but this is the season in which many of our resident birds slowly begin the process of looking for nest sites for next year. Therefore, it is a really good idea to get as many new boxes up as you can, before the end of the autumn season, as it will make it more likely for boxes to be used next spring. See here for more nest box tips.’ 

Give a bird a home in 2024

Also if you have any bug or bee hotels, move them into a sheltered spot lest exposure to particularly cold temperatures kills the inhabitants.

Counting on … day 1.211

8th November 2023

Repairability and maintainability of things we buy and own is an important part of sustainability. I have previously commented on repairing and mending things around the home – https://greentau.org/tag/repairs/ – and on regular bike maintenance – https://greentau.org/2022/09/03/counting-on-day-298/ Maintenance also includes regularly cleaning shoes, re waterproofing coats, emptying and cleaning vacuum cleaners, servicing boilers etc.

Maintenance may also include reviewing our lives, our daily habits, to check that they still align with our faith values.

Counting on … day 1.210

7th November 2023

Green Christian coined the nemonic LOAF ( locally , organise, animal friendly, fairly traded)  to help us make better choices when buying food. I was wondering if we need a similar nemonic for other purchasing choices.
For example SURE – 

Sustainably produced; 

 Useful (ie something we need rather than a gimmick);

the Rs – can it be  repaired, reused, and can it (finally) be recycled;  and 

Ethically produced by people earning the real living wage, where taxes are paid and exploitative advertising avoided. 

Make SURE before you buy!

For further thoughts – https://greentau.org/2022/07/12/eco-tips-stuff/

Counting on … day 1.209

6th November 2023

Christmas is now lurking round the corner. The Shops have finished with Halloween and whilst there is still Black Friday to go, that too can be tied into buying for Christmas. But how about ‘not buying’ for Christmas?

The autumnal leaves are turning into a wide range of colours from lime yellow to brassy red. I have been collecting some of them – ones that have a particularly attractive shape or colour – and  am flattening them between the pages of a heavy book. Next month, when it’s actually Christmas I will thread them together with thread to make garlands. 

For more ideas see https://greentau.org/2022/11/24/eco-tips-christmas/

The Feast of All Saints

5th November 2023

Reflection (readings are below)

Heaven, as described in the passage from the the Book of Revelation, is a place – or maybe more generally an environment or habitat – filled with the praise of God. A place of praise because it is a place where all the goodness, the greatness of God is realised and recognised. It is a place of blessing, of joy, and of satisfaction. 

Heaven is our goal whether that is after death or just as importantly in this life. When we pray ‘your kingdom come on earth as in heaven’ we express the desire that life on earth would be as it is in heaven – a life of blessing, of joy and of satisfaction. Thus when Jesus says blessed are the meek, the pure in heart, the peacemaker … it is saying that to be like that, to live in that way, is to experience the kingdom of heaven. It is to live in that heavenly habitat.

I have included a translation of the  Beatitudes from The Message as sometimes we are so used to the conventional translation, that we are not brought up short by Jesus’s words. The passage uses the word apprentice to describe Jesus’s disciples. It is a good choice. The Greek word used for disciple ‘mathetes’ comes from the verb meaning the mental effort needed to think something through. The word apprentice comes from the Latin ‘apprehendre’ meaning to grasp hold of mental or physically – to learn. An apprentice is one who learns the skills of the trade, working alongside and learning from an expert. 

In this passage that we know as The Beatitudes, is Jesus reading out a report card – these are the rewards that A and B have achieved? Or is it a list of targets – this is what you could aspire to? Or is it an observation of holy truths – this is how it is when people live in the ways of the kingdom of God?

Eugene Peterson slips in another word for disciple, a climbing companion. This then gives a particular resonance to the first Beatitude, which he describes as being at the end of your rope. Not in the  sense of having nothing else left, but what it is to be on the end of the rope when you are with your climbing companions. Then you are totally reliant on those above you who have secured the rope. Earlier this year I abseiled down from the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower. There was a point where I had to release by foothold on the building and trust entirely in the ropes that held me 80m up in the air. It was an act of faith – there was nothing else I could do. There was no other alternative, I simply had to trust and let go. The challenge is to have that same simple faith in God everyday unhindered by what ifs – what if I was more intelligent, what if I was thinner, what if I was richer, what if I had better friends, what if I lived elsewhere…

Each of the Beatitudes in some way challenges us to reshape our relationship with God. To have a relationship which is always God-centred, which never needs more than what we have, that seeks to live and breath God, to be absolutely reliant on God, that loves others only for and through our relationship with God. It is a pure and simple relationship centred on God and from which our actions  and interactions with the world then flow.

To be an apprentice is to be committed, to be ready and willing to learn and to practice, to practice and to learn. As such, an apprenticeship is a vocation. You put in the hours of work, the dedication of practice, not because someone’s is going to praise your efforts, but because you want to perfect the skill. You enjoy the effort not because it will bring you rewards but because it is the only activity that makes you truly happy. 

As Jesus’s apprentices we need to practice and practice the way he did things. To love without counting the cost, to be truthful without counting the cost, to stand up for what is right without counting the cost, to be faithful without counting the cost. 

Revelation 7:9-17

After this I, John, looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom 

and thanksgiving and honour  

and power and might 

be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“For this reason they are before the throne of God,

and worship him day and night within his temple,

and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;

the sun will not strike them,

nor any scorching heat;

for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Psalm 34:1-10,22

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; *
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.

2 I will glory in the Lord; *
let the humble hear and rejoice.

3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; *
let us exalt his Name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me *
and delivered me out of all my terror.

5 Look upon him and be radiant, *
and let not your faces be ashamed.

6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *
and saved me from all my troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, *
and he will deliver them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; *
happy are they who trust in him!

9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints, *
for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.

22 The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, *
and none will be punished who trust in him.

1 John 3:1-3

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Matthew 5:1-12 (the first version comes from The Message)

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

—————————-

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Counting on … day 1.208

3rd November 2023

Another industry highly dependent on energy is the steel industry. Traditionally that has come from coal, but electric furnaces are providing a less environmentally damaging alternative, producing what is termed ‘green steel’. Providing investment to enable British based steel plants to switch is becoming an election issue. The Guardian reported that “Labour is promising to invest £3bn in smoothing the green transition should it win power at the next election. This is substantially more than the offers made by Mr Sunak’s government to Tata Steel and the Chinese Jingye Group, the respective owners of the Port Talbot works and British Steel. As Sir Keir pointed out, with the right kind of backing and vision from Westminster, domestic steel production can become a crucial component in meeting Britain’s clean power targets. That, in turn, will help protect good, well-paid jobs in regions that desperately need them. Britain is set to require more, not less, steel as it builds net zero machinery and infrastructure at pace. That can be a catalyst for industry renewal, if a committed government shows the drive and imagination to make it so. New public procurement rules, for example, could ensure the use of clean British steel in the manufacture of wind turbines, rather than reliance on imports from abroad.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/24/the-guardian-view-on-labour-and-the-steel-industry-how-to-forge-a-better-future?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Nothing is straight forward. To add to this story, it seems that switching to electric furnaces has to further knock on effects. First the furnace needs fewer people to operate it, so the switch comes with redundancies. We should be aspiring to a just transition to net zero which means we should be looking to create jobs for those facing redundancy. This could involve reskilling people for work in the green sector eg building and installing wind turbines, heat pumps, solar panels, etc. Second – and which is a positive really – electric furnaces don’t produce steel from iron ore but by recycling steel and iron.

Green Tau issue 82

Oil, Profits and the need for change

3rd November 2023

Yesterday Shell announced their interim profits of £5.1bn for the period July to September. This was up on the previous quarter but down compared with this quarter last year when their profits were over £7bn.

According to a report made by Reuters, in order to compete with its fellow oil producers, Shell will be aiming to increase its dividend by 20% and to make overall payouts of between 35-40% of its cash flow. To this end the new CEO Wael Sawan aims to maintain Shell’s oil output at 1.5 million barrels per day. While this is less than the 2.6 million bpd produced in 1998, Sawan’s plan is to maintain this 1.5 million bpd until 2030! With oil prices again rising due to the conflict in the Middle East, increasing profits and dividends seem secure – and Sawan has said that shifting to a low-carbon economy cannot come at the expense of profits. (1)

The Guardian has reported that Shell plans to invest $40 billion in oil and gas production between now and 2035, and between $10bn and $15bn in “low-carbon” products including biofuels and carbon capture. (2) Carbon capture is important to Shell as it aims to reduce its carbon emissions between now and 2050. However it must be noted that Shell only includes scope 1 and 2 emissions in these targets – ie they intend to reduce the emissions arising from the production of oil and gas, with for example carbon capture being used to offset emissions they cannot remove. What is not covered in Shell’s net zero aspirations are the emissions released by the oil and gas once they have been sold  and used – scope 3 emissions. Other oil companies do the same, each competing to claim whose oil is least carbon intensive or greenest!

In 2022 Shell’s scope 1 and 2 emissions were 58 million tonnes CO2e, but its scope 1,2 and 3 emissions were in the region of 1.6 billion tonnes CO2e. Global emissions for CO2e are about 40 billion tonnes of which fossil fuels contribute about 37 billion tonnes. There is no getting away from the fact that fossil fuels are drivers of climate change. And equally that companies like Shell have no intention of phasing out oil from their business plans.

Meanwhile the International Energy Agency ( IEA) has said that if we are to achieve our net zero emissions by 2050 there must be no more development of new oil or gas. There is already enough fossil fuels available from the existing sites for the world’s economies to use as they transition to net zero.

However oil and gas typically produces a return of 10-20% whilst renewables only yield 5-8%. Our lifestyles are still deeply dependent on the oil economy and often it seems simpler to pay more for the fuel than to readjust tey way we live and work. Equally it would seem that the markets cannot reflect in their prices the risk and/ or cost of a climate catastrophe. Surely then it is time for the markets to be regulated for the benefit of everyone. Such regulations would need to be clear, precise and universal to be effective. Individual nations are unlikely to make such regulations in isolation. Hence the need for regulatory agreements to be reached at, for example, COP28.

It is also important that the nations at COP28 agree to a sharp and complete phasing out of fossil fuels. The agreement will need to clearly define when and how fossil fuel production is to be reduced to zero. It will effect some countries more than others – especially those who have previously become dependant on oil money. It will affect jobs, both those directly employed in the extraction of fossil fuels, and those employed in the processing of this raw material. It will also affect investment markets, potentially reduce the amount of funds accruing to pension funds, insurance companies etc. Ensuring a smooth and fair transition is important.

The IMF reports, “The end of oil thus makes economic transformation imperative. Oil-rich countries must diversify to become resilient to the changes in energy markets. An appropriate governance framework to manage proceeds from oil in good and bad times has always been important to fostering economic diversification. But with stranded assets a new risk, radical shifts in governance in oil-dependent economies are urgent. Dubai, for example, facing the depletion of its oil reserves, transformed itself into a global trade hub. Countries and businesses reliant on these markets must formulate policies to address this transformation, including the development of renewable energy.” (Arezki 2020) (4) 

What does not and will not help, is prolonging the viability of oil companies. In particular the use of government subsidies should be withdrawn universally. Instead windfall taxes should be levied to fund reparations to communities disproportionately affected by climate change. 

Last year Ethical Consumer reported “Currently, the UK’s tax regime makes it the most profitable country in the world to develop big offshore oil and gas projects. Most spending on oil and gas exploration can be offset against tax, as it is classified as ‘research and development’. Almost all spending on new fields can be offset in the first year of development, and companies can claim tax relief for decommissioning offshore installations. Since the Paris Agreement, the government has provided £13.6 billion in subsidies to the UK oil and gas industry. From 2016 to 2020 companies received £9.9 billion in tax relief for new exploration and production, including £15 million of direct grants for exploration, and £3.7 billion in payments towards decommissioning costs.” (4) 

From research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, the Guardian reported that since 2015, whilst renewable energy received £60bn in subsidies, fossil fuel companies received close to £80bn. (5) No wonder the investment returns on fossil fuels exceeds that from renewables!

And in 2022, Energy Voice reported  that “Shell received net rebates of over $121 million (£92m) from the UK government last year, the largest total from any country in which it operates. In total, Shell received rebates of more than $131m (£100m) from HM Revenue and Customs, according to its latest Payments to Governments report, released Tuesday. This was offset by fee payments to regulators, including more than $10.5m (£8m) to the Oil and Gas Authority (now the North Sea Transition Authority), and over $120,000 (£91,000) to the Crown Estate Scotland.” (6) Is the UK government actively paying oil companies to damage our climate?!

The IEA reports “‘The IEA has long advocated removing or at least reducing fossil fuel subsidies because they distort markets, send the wrong price signals to users, widen fiscal deficits in developing economies, and discourage the adoption of cleaner renewable energies. Their expansion is particularly worrying at a time when we should be redoubling efforts to cut wasteful consumption and accelerate clean energy transitions. Reforming prices is a political challenge, but it is also economically and environmentally vital.” (7)

The overarching aim of the climate COPs is to limit the extent of climate change and its impact on the world. To this end numerous agreements have been made since COP21 in Paris in 2015, to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050. This scientists thought would keep global temperature increases below 1.5C. However it now seems that with emissions still rising, we may pass this threshold much sooner. Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), noted that September 2023 would be one for the record books. “This extreme month has pushed 2023 into the dubious honour of first place – on track to be the warmest year and around 1.4°C above pre-industrial average temperatures.” (8)

The failure of governments and oil companies to phase down the production of fossil fuels is surely morally if not criminally wrong? In the next Green Tau I will be looking at campaigns and actions that aim to address this. 

(1) – https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-pivots-back-oil-win-over-investors-sources-2023-06-09/

(2) – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/14/shell-drops-target-to-cut-oil-production-as-ceo-guns-for-higher-profits?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(3) – https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2021/06/the-future-of-oil-arezki-and-nysveen.htm

(4) –  https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/paid-pollute-fossil-fuel-subsidies-uk-what-you-need-know

(5) – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/09/fossil-fuels-more-support-uk-than-renewables-since-2015

(6) – https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/400886/uk-government-hands-shell-more-than-92m-in-2021/

(7)  – https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-2021

(8) – https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1141937

Counting on … day 1.207

2nd November 2023

It is not just individuals that are trying to make the shift to net zero, but businesses too. And they likewise find the lack of government support and direction frustrating. 

Last week the Guardian reported that, “Miles Roberts, the company’s chief executive, said British government decarbonisation policy has lacked the clarity of European rivals, meaning DS Smith[ a FTSE 100 paper packaging company] has moved ahead with a €90m (£78m) investment in a paper mill in Rouen, northern France …Roberts said: “If you are committed to carbon neutral, and it is far more attractive to invest in those solutions elsewhere, what you’ll see is manufacturing decline in the UK.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/22/uk-must-offer-businesses-certainty-over-green-energy-says-boss-of-ftse-100-firm?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 1.206

1st November 2023

The following commentary comes from the publishers of Positive News.  

“It’s really pretty simple. If we want to keep the climate stable, we have to ring in some big changes, both societal and personal. Progress is slow on the former. But while governments dither, there are signs that ordinary folk are embracing lifestyle choices that slash emissions.
 
“A Europe-wide survey this week found that young people are leading the way when it comes to planet-friendly living. Younger people are more likely than other age groups to buy secondhand clobber, cut down on meat and ditch smut-belching cars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they are also more likely to support pro-climate policies. It chimes with separate research by the UK government, which showed that meat is slipping off menus, although the cost of living crisis may also have something to do with that.”