Climate Speaker
On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, climate activists held a Vigil for Creation on April 22 to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Musa Dube, the distinguished professor of New Testament at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, seen here preaching during the service. The gathering took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. (Paul Jeffrey/UM News)
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?” Luke 14:28
When Jesus spoke these words, he was using the scenario of building a tower to illustrate the cost of discipleship. He was warning the people that discipleship is costly, not easy or cheap. In addition to this spiritual teaching, Jesus’ words also point to the practical wisdom of being realistic about the direction we take in our lives and the projects we take on.
Let’s be realistic here, first about climate change and then about what it will take to limit harm. Climate change has advanced so far and so quickly that we are approaching and passing irreversible tipping points. Fossil fuel use is rising (crypto currencies and AI use massive amounts of energy), emissions are rising, and global temperatures are rising faster than ever, with weather-related disasters breaking records every day. Sunday, July 21, was the hottest day ever recorded. The primary cause of climate change is the burning of coal, oil, and gas. Yet despite lower costs and increased availability of renewable energy, governments of the world continue to subsidize fossil fuels at the rate pf $7 trillion per year ($13 million per minute), even as fossil fuel companies capture regulatory agencies and block strong climate policies.
So much is at stake. Fossil fuel pollution and climate change cause immeasurable harm, especially for our young and in frontline communities and vulnerable countries where impacts are greatest.
Beginning with the dramatic news of the past few weeks, the upcoming election will no doubt be the primary focus of many climate justice advocates for the next few months. This election has huge ramifications for our climate. (See United Methodist and climate activist Bill McKibben’s article on what is at stake with this election.)
Let’s be realistic: The world cannot keep burning fossil fuels at the current rate if we hope to limit planetary heating, yet the global system within which we live perpetuates the burning of fossil fuels. Changing the system will mean changing our assumptions, values, and worldviews. So far, decision-makers (fossil fuel executives, politicians beholden to donations from fossil fuel companies, investment funds that profit from fossil fuels, delegations from wealthy governments at climate conferences) have not been able or willing to phase out fossil fuels. They find the cost of changing the system too high.
Our goal at Fossil Free UMC is to take action that could impact this overall conundrum: to raise awareness of the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels and to withdraw our moral endorsement and our money from the fossil fuel industry. This would also join us with the many other organizations (including faith groups) that have divested and the global climate justice movement that is working so hard for a phase out of fossil fuels. It is a way to affirm that we are with them in calling for “system change not climate change.”
In the lead-up to General Conference, Fossil Free UMC experienced widespread support and gained significant momentum in our efforts to pass legislation that would add fossil fuels to our list of United Methodist investment screens. In the words of Rev. Richenda Fairhurst: “The coalition for justice at General Conference emerged with a clear voice, including in song, tears, and celebration. Fossil Free UMC rejoiced as decades of harm were overturned, and gratefully accepted the partnership and support from so many coming alongside and calling for fossil fuel divestment including United Women in Faith, Methodist Federation for Social Action, United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, and the Love Your Neighbor Coalition.” Although General Conference overwhelming affirmed most creation justice legislation, the clock ran out on the last day, so the issue of fossil fuel divestment, along with several other issues, was not heard. (Find out more about what happened here.)
Still, we had known from the beginning that the struggle to convince the United Methodist Church to divest from fossil fuels would not be easy. We had decided months before that no matter what happened at General Conference, we would continue our work afterwards. Our mission continues to be: “to build on the commitments of The United Methodist Church to faithfully address climate change by screening out fossil fuels from our investments at all levels of the church and by investing in goods and services that support a just transition to a clean energy future.”
Right now, Fossil Free UMC is on a much-needed summer hiatus. When we meet again this fall during election season, Fossil Free UMC will be developing a strategy for raising awareness throughout our global connection about the moral and financial arguments for moving our denomination and world away from funding and profiting from fossil fuels, which are wreaking havoc on God’s creation, including our human family.
As we strategize, we will be brainstorming about how to approach this project of fossil fuel divestment and counting the cost as we would if we were building a tower. It looks like we will have to undertake this project from the bottom up, brick by brick. This will mean resourcing pastors and church members about how to divest from fossil fuels as individual United Methodists and mobilizing within our local churches, annual conferences, foundations, and church agencies to divest. It will mean creating a groundswell so that every delegate at the next General Conference will know what is at stake.
Another consideration: Building towers with stone back in Jesus’ day could take decades or longer. With climate change, we don’t have that kind of time. The 2015 goal of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was a strategy to hold global heating to no more than 1.5 degrees C, the limit beyond which scientists say would be disastrous. But we are quickly approaching that limit and some days have already surpassed it. Further, to reach net zero emissions by 2050 depends on cutting emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, which will be just two years after our next General Conference. To meet the current moment, our fossil fuel divestment strategy must include joining forces with the growing climate justice movement to 1) halt the financing of all new and expanded fossil fuel projects, challenge the market-based conventional wisdom of what has been called “the real world,” and make the case that “it’s wrong to profit from wrecking the planet.”
Note: If your retirement or other funds are invested in Wespath, consider moving your investments to their Social Values Choice Funds, which are intended to be free of fossil fuels and Palestine conflict funds. See the webpage and video: How we moved our funds into fossil free options at Wespath. umcreationjustice.org/personaldivestment/
Note: If you feel drawn to this work, you are invited to join us.
Climate Advocate
The Rev. Sharon Delgado, convener of the grassroots caucus Fossil Free UMC. (Photo courtesy of Sharon Delgado.)
The Rev. Sharon Delgado is on the Coordinating Committee of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and is the Convener of Fossil Free UMC. She is author of The Cross in the Midst of Creation, Love in a Time of Climate Change, and Shaking the Gates of Hell.