United Methodists Undaunted by COP26's Disappointing Results

Crisis Watch Dec. 5, 2021

December 6, 2021

5:31 PM

A United Methodist Insight Column

COP26, the United Nations global climate conference that took place in early November, was a major disappointment to a lot of faith-based climate activists. Not only were the logistics of the meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, hard to navigate, non-governmental observers had difficulty getting to hear and speak with policymakers. The ultimate result of COP26 was disappointing because many observers believe the final agreement on combatting climate change by some 200 countries doesn’t go far enough to stave off catastrophic effects by the end of the 21^st century.

Although disappointed, United Methodist climate activists and other observers are undaunted in their quest to care better for God’s creation. Here’s a sampling of what’s being held and discussed.

UMW Methane speakers

United Methodist Women to train public speakers

United Methodist Women will hold a training from 4 to 5 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, Dec. 8 to prepare people to give public comment in Environmental Protection Agency hearings about methane pollution. UMW’s press release says that the EPA has written new rules on cutting climate and toxic air pollution from oil and gas facilities and are taking public comments through Jan. 14, 2022.

Four knowledgeable women will lead the training:

Lauren Pagel, policy director at Earthworks, is an expert on mining, oil and gas policy, having worked to protect communities, the environment and our climate from the adverse impacts of extraction for 20 years. Lauren has led Earthworks policy team for the past decade, and served as the co-chair for the Methane Partners Campaign since 2019.

Daryl Junes-Joe is a Dine woman from the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico. She is a member of United Methodist Women and serves as the Governance Chair of United Methodist Women’s national board. She served as a tribal Prosecutor for the Navajo Nation for 30 years doing extensive work on the Navajo reservation.

Cynthia Rives, UMW national vice president, will speak on the negative impact of methane emissions on families and communities. Cynthia also serves on the Texas Impact Board of Directors, a justice advocacy group.

Elizabeth Chun Hye (Liz) Lee, UMW executive for economic and environmental justice, will speak on the connection between faith and climate action. Liz serves on the board of US Climate Action Network, and represents United Methodist Women at the Transit Equity Network, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, and other coalitions.

Interested witnesses can see how their state is impacted by methane by typing their zip code into the Oil and Gas Threat map here.

Prioritize climate justice

In the December newsletter of UM Creation Justice Movement, “hopeful” Minnesota EarthKeeper Cathy Velasquez Eberhart encourages United Methodists to urge members of Congress to prioritize climate justice in federal funding bills. She writes:

“In the Gospel lesson for the first Sunday in Advent this year, Luke 21:25-36 (NIV), Jesus offers advice to a people who are living through a terrifying time.

"’On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.’

“In the midst of that chaos, Jesus says to his followers, ’Stand up and lift up your heads ... Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and...know that the kingdom of God is near.’

“This passage was particularly inspiring for me when I started my climate change activism eight years ago and it guides me still today. When everyone around us is afraid or distracted, our job is to stand strong, look for the new life that is emerging and align our lives in support of that new life.”

To that end, the UM Creation Justice Movement advocates contacting your senators to pass the Build Back Better Act that has passed the House and encourage five friends to do the same. “Both United Methodist Women and Church and Society have action alerts available to easily connect with your Senators or you can find your Senators contact information here,” says the newsletter.

Zimbabwe disasters show climate change effects

Zimbabwe storm damage

Nyorovai Masvanhise (left) and Tendai Madzukwa survey damage at the United Methodist Mashambanhaka Primary School, some 80 miles northeast of Harare, Zimbabwe, after a storm peeled the roof off of several classrooms. Masvanhise is the school’s development chair and Madzukwa is senior teacher at the primary school. (Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.)

Dr. David W. Scott of UM & Global recommends reading the UM News article, “Storms destroy two church institutions in Zimbabwe,” also published on United Methodist Insight.

Dr. Scott found the comments of Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa most interesting: "Within 24 hours, all roofs were blown off from buildings at our two institutions by a heavy, windy storm. Experts are saying that it is because of the change in the climate. We never used to get cyclones in Zimbabwe."

This connection prompted Dr. Scott to offer a reminder and an open-ended question.

“First, the reminder: While climate change is polarized along liberal / conservative lines in the United States, that is not true elsewhere. The politics of climate change look very different outside the United States, so US United Methodists should resist making assumptions about the environmental views of United Methodists outside the United States based on other political or theological positions.

“Second, the question: The UMC is well-known for its disaster response work through UMCOR, both within the United States and globally. What happens to that ministry focus in a world changed by climate where there are increasingly more disasters, many more than the UMC and UMCOR could ever respond to?”

Misinformation causing higher death rates

At the risk of offending some readers with a political issue, we call attention to this article from National Public Radio: Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame. The article offers this sobering fact:

“Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden. That's according to a new analysis by NPR that examines how political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic.”

“…Recent polling shows that partisanship is now this single strongest identifying predictor of whether someone is vaccinated. Polling also shows that mistrust in official sources of information and exposure to misinformation, about both COVID-19 and the vaccines, run high among Republicans.

"’An unvaccinated person is three times as likely to lean Republican as they are to lean Democrat," says Liz Hamel, vice president of public opinion and survey research at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy think tank that tracks attitudes toward vaccination. Political affiliation is now the strongest indicator of whether someone is vaccinated, she says: "If I wanted to guess if somebody was vaccinated or not and I could only know one thing about them, I would probably ask what their party affiliation is."

Here's a chart from the Kaiser Family Foundation showing the poll results: