Why COP28 Matters to Your Local Church

by

Disasters and Climate Change

A United Methodist Insight Column

Why should we care about the United Nations climate conference known as COP28, which started Nov. 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates? We care because first, God calls us to be good stewards of the Earth, and second, because the climate crisis is the existential challenge of our time that will affect the futures of our children and grandchildren.

Climate Central's scientists surveyed data from 242 U.S. cities to determine the amount and rate of increased warming over the lifetimes of several generations. As the accompanying video shows, failing to decrease carbon emissions in the atmosphere will cause global warming to rise to a level deadly to humans and all life on earth.

As Climate Central explains it, COP28 – which stands for the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties, meaning those nations who've signed on to UN climate treaties – aims to close the gap " between global climate goals and climate action." Among key resources that can help explain COP28 and its goals to local churches, Climate Central officers data and illustrations on:

  • Analysis for 242 U.S. locations shows that rapid cuts in carbon pollution could lead younger generations toward a future with less warming and fewer risky extreme events. Click here to see an animation of how curbing carbon pollution could affect warming in Dallas-Fort Worth.
  • Analysis using the Climate Shift Index shows how human-caused climate change influenced heat in 175 countries and 920 cities during the last 12 months — Earth’s hottest on record.
  • Visualize how sea level rise under different levels of warming could transform iconic coastal locations around the world including Dubai, the COP28 host city.

These kinds of teaching tools are invaluable for local church creation stewards in educating congregations on why even the smallest actions can have significant effects on local and global climate. Check out the COP28 resources and more at Climate Central.

For another real-life example of climate change's effects on local communities, read The Texas Tribune's article: Climate change, costly disasters sent Texas homeowner insurance rates skyrocketing this year.

Will COP28 break our hearts?

That's the question posted by the Washington Post's Climate Coach Michael J. Coren. This year's session is proving contentious from the start and is likely to stay such.

COP stands for "conference of the parties," the United Nation's term for those who signed on to the first UN climate treaty. That was followed by the Kyoto Protocol, widely viewed as a failure because it didn't produce any results in lowering carbon emissions and reducing global warming. But it did create a process of consultation that has led to breakthrough pacts such as "the Paris agreement committing nations to prevent global average temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C (2.7F)." writes Coren.

He also notes, however, that "so far, the world is not on track to meet those goals."

Fiona Harvey, one of The Guardian's climate reporters, is likewise dubious about the Dubai meeting. She writes in the "Down to Earth" newsletter: "Claims that the (UAE's) COP team planned to discuss new oil and gas deals alongside climate action in pre-conference meetings rocked delegates assembling for the fortnight-long conference, and tarnished the preparations for the arrival of scores of world leaders in Dubai ...."

Maxine Joselow, one of the Post's climate policy reporters who writes its "The Climate 202" newsletter often quoted in this column, predicts "the UAE and other major oil producers will probably block anything more ambitious than a 'phase-down,'” says Coren.

United Methodist Insight awaits reports from faith-based climate advocates, including many United Methodists, at COP28 for their unique perspective on the event and its actions.

Early Response Team training set

If you're in the California-Nevada Annual Conference, consider signing up for the coming Early Response Team training. Says a post from the conference's Disaster Response committee:

"An excellent way to actively participate in our Conference Disaster Response Ministry is to become trained as an Early Response Team (ERT) volunteer.  ERTs are the cornerstone of our response to the relief and recovery from a disaster.  Our next online training class will be Saturday and Sunday, January 6th, and 7th, 2024.  Click here for more info and to register."

United Methodist ERTs are often the first to care for and comfort disaster victims. Could you be the face and hands of Christ in California-Nevada? Check out the disaster response page on the newly redesigned conference website: California-Nevada Conference of The UMC | Disaster Response Ministry (cnumc.org)

An award-winning religion journalist who has reported on The United Methodist Church at all levels for 35 years, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011. "Crisis Watch" forms part of Insight's participation in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of some 500 news outlets around the world committed to enhance climate coverage. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.