Putting UMC's Muscle Behind Climate Finance Reform

Crisis Watch Jan. 6, 2023

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A United Methodist Insight Column

The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement aims to put the denomination's muscle behind one of the biggest issues of the climate crisis – financing.

Led by the Rev. Sharon Delgado, a United Methodist clergywoman whose ministry has centered on climate change and creation care, Creation Justice's Climate Finance Subcommittee drafted three model resolutions related to climate finance, then "presented them to the organization's Resolutions Subcommittee for feedback, discussion, edits, and decision," according to an update posted on its website. Read Rev. Delgado's article on climate finance.

First, the subcommittee offers "a model 2023 resolution for annual conferences that would call for a petition to be presented to the 2024 General Conference adding 'fossil fuels' to the list of investment activities that Paragraph 717 of the UM Book of Discipline has indicated that United Methodists are to screen out and not support with any funding." Click here to read Paragraph 717 with new wording.

Secondly, the subcommittee drafted a model annual conference resolution "calling for the annual conference itself to 'not knowingly make investments in any company or entity whose core business activity involves the production of coal, petroleum, or natural gas.'" This will be a tough sell in many states, especially Texas, where the fossil fuel industry undergirds many local church and annual conference investments.

Thirdly, the subcommittee offers a resolution endorsing the World Council of Churches’ initiative, Climate-Responsible Finance: A Moral Imperative towards Children. This initiative "calls on member churches to recognize impacts of climate change on children and calls on conference agencies, churches, groups, and individuals to take certain actions to preserve a planet that is habitable for children." The United Methodist Church is a WCC member.

The UM Creation Justice Ministry's finance subcommittee also is considering working with other groups on engagement with banks, including Stop the Money Pipeline and Third Act’s Banking on Our Future Campaign.

Formed in 2020, the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement has brought together concerned United Methodists and groups for whom stewardship of the Earth has become a primary ministry. On Jan. 18, the organization will launch the UMCJ Movement Café, a once-a-month gathering for activists "to listen, learn, and share joys, successes, questions, concerns, and possibilities."

Says UMCJ Movement chair Cathy Velasquez Eberhart: "Each third Wednesday (10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET), and occasional evenings, the Café will feature a topic and/or a speaker and generate hope for our good earth." Register here. 

Spreading that JOY

In the weeks since the Global JOY Summit, I've been surprised by how much the simple practices recommended by its speakers have enabled me to withstand the despair that can come from a constant barrage of tragic and frustrating news. I covered the virtual event mainly to see the "Mission: JOY" movie featuring the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but then the event's webinars prove just as enlightening.

Now comes word from the documentary's producer, Peggy Callahan, that "Mission: JOY" will be available to all Netflix subscribers starting Jan. 5. Since Jan. 5 is the twelfth day of Christmastide, I think the film is a great gift to all Netflix watchers. Here's Peggy's note:

"'Mission: JOY' will launch on Netflix in the United States and Africa on January 5th, followed by all of Latin America and many Caribbean Islands in the first quarter of 2023. In other countries such as Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand it will be available when our current deals with other networks and other distributors expire in the autumn.

"... Via Netflix alone, the film will be available in more than 140 million households including in countries where Netflix is in more than half of the households. While we cannot know yet how many will view the film, we can assume based on the performance of similar films that at least a few million people watch it."

If you haven't seen "Mission: JOY" yet I highly recommend it. In these difficult times, we need all the spiritual support we can get, and a lot of that depends on how we ourselves choose to see the world, including how God is alive and active every moment.

Good news from climate efforts

Our favorite climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, sent out an end-of-the-year newsletter chock-full of good news about efforts to halt global warming and reclaim the planet. Sign up for her newsletter. Here are highlights of her report:

In South America: Brazil re-elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who has pledged to reach net-zero deforestation in the Amazon by the end of the decade. This summer, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that the Paris Agreement must take precedence over national laws: the first country in the world to do so.

In North America: U.S. renewables were projected to produce more than 20 percent of the country’s power in 2022, surpassing coal for the first time.

In Europe: Across the E.U., countries have agreed to cut their heat-trapping gas emissions by at least 55% in the next eight years.

In Africa: Looking to the future, Africa has the greatest solar energy potential of any continent, and could generate a trillion euros (about 1.1 trillion USD) in investments in green hydrogen.

In Asia: Homes built after 2025 in Tokyo must have solar panels. ... And in India, the government is spending $2.6 billion to spur domestic solar production. 

In Oceania: Women in Papau New Guinea are leading mangrove conservation efforts that protect coastlines from climate-fueled storms and provide habitat for coastal species and firewood for local communities.

Professor Hayhoe says that "the tools to end the climate crisis" are available to us now, and she links to an article outlining them on the Natural Resources Defense Council's website. What signs of hope for mitigating climate change effects do you see in your community?

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011. This column is part of Insight's ongoing participation in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of more than 500 news outlets committed to enhanced reporting on the global climate crisis. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.