Communicating Climate Crisis
The Rev. Mel Caraway talks with George Marshall about how to communicate the urgency of climate change to people of faith.
MADRID, Spain – As we draw near the end of the first week of COP25, I am flooded with thoughts and emotions. This has been an incredible week of learning, connecting, and sharing with friends both new and old in the fight for climate justice and the struggle against climate change.
This morning I had the honor of sitting down for a video dialogue with my good friend John Hill, Deputy General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. John and I have known each other since he began his work at GBCS on Earth Day in 2002, and we have worked with each other dozens of times in the past 17 years. Following that, I videoed a reflection on my COP25 experience that will be on www.texasimpact.org next week.
This afternoon I was at the US Climate Action Center in the Exhibit Hall as they highlighted their #WEARESTILLIN campaign. Then I attended a session with a live stream from New Jersey and California. David Hayes, Former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Department of the Interior, now Executive Director, State Energy & Environmental Impact Center introduced Attorney General Gurbir Grewal of New Jersey who spoke on the topic of “Attorney Generals are Still In.” This session, hosted by Emma Hutchinson of Climate Nexus focused on the Attorney Generals in over 20 states who are actively supporting continued US involvement in the Paris Climate Accord. General Grewal focused on what state Attorney Generals can do and are doing. They are supporting those in their states who are taking additional steps beyond those mandated by US law to ensure that all US citizens have clean air, clean water, and other actions that will reduce climate change and bring us to a fossil free future.
In New Jersey the legislature has passed the Global Warming Response Act which directs that energy produced in the state will come from at least 50% renewable sources by the year 2030. They have banned offshore oil drilling, and they project that they will produce at least 75 gigawatts of wind energy annually by 2030. The statewide focus is on new, clean energy.
General Grewal has also taken a leading role among state Attorney Generals in initiating legal action against polluters, especially in lower economic areas of the state. He is playing an important role in initiating climate change litigation while standing up to climate deniers at all levels of government. In the areas of methane regulations and fuel efficiency standards, New Jersey is leading the way. This is all part of their action plan in the courts on climate change.
In response to my question regarding how those of us in Texas and other states whose Attorney Generals are not acting to enforce existing environmental regulations can get our AG’s to live up to their sworn duty, AG Grewal said our primary action can be taken at the ballot box. We can also reach out to other AG’s who are responsive to the crisis of climate change for advice as well as to David Hayes’ organization, Climate One. Finally, he said that their office has a track record of 99% success in litigating climate and environmental offenders.
Later in the afternoon, we attended a meeting of Climate Action Network leaders with the leaders of the US Department of State delegation to COP25. They shared with us their priorities at COP, and discussion followed on a number of issues including indigenous rights, Article 6 of the Accord, and adaptation and loss and damage.
Because of my participation in the CAN/State Department meeting, I was unable to attend the Climate March in downtown Madrid, but Texas Impact has footage of and reporting on that event
This is my last blog post from COP25 as I will be leaving Monday and my place in the delegation will be taken by Adrian Shelley, Texas Impact Board Member from Spring, Texas. Interested United Methodists can continue to follow the faith-based events of COP25 via Texas Impact's website.
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Mel Caraway at COP25
The Rev. Mel Caraway reports from COP25 in Madrid, Spain, Dec. 2-13, 2019. (Texas Impact Photo. Used by Permission).
he Rev. Mel Caraway, a retired clergy member of the North Texas Annual Conference, is a United Methodist EarthKeeper, an environmental mission program affiliated with the General Board of Global Ministries. His reports are adapted with permission from his blog on the Texas Impact website. United Methodist Insight participates in Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration founded by the Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation magazine to strengthen coverage of the climate story.