Climate inaction a danger, United Methodists say
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A delegation from United Methodist Women
participated in a massive march through the streets of Copenhagen during
the U.N. Conference on Climate Change.
A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. Pat Watkins.
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A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
Dec. 18, 2009
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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said “God’s
justice” would prevail.
A UMNS Photo by Peter Williams, WCC.
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Someday soon, Tupou Kelemeni fears, her ancestral home could be
washed away.
Pacific island nations are among the countries under immediate threat
from global warming and Kelemeni, a United Methodist from Hawaii and
native of Tonga, is concerned about all of them.
As a member of the United Methodist Women’s delegation to the U.N.
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, she had a chance to interview
young people from the Solomon Islands and the Maldives Islands, in the
Indian Ocean, about the situation.
“They are in the frontlines of being washed away by the oceans,” she
explained. “When they spoke about it, I felt the tears welling up in my
eyes. I can see that happening to the young men and women in Tonga.”
By the summit’s final day on Dec. 18, it seemed unlikely that such
threats would be addressed in the near future. U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Copenhagen the day before to declare
that the United States would contribute to the annual $100 billion cost
of helping poor nations adapt to climate change, but that commitment
came with significant conditions. In particular, the United States and
China remained at odds over aspects of any agreement.
While United Methodists traveled to Copenhagen hopeful that a new
agreement could be negotiated among the representatives of nearly 200
nations, they were more focused on providing ecumenical solidarity to
the poor nations most affected by climate change.
In addition to Kelemeni, the denomination’s participants included the
Rev. Pat Watkins, Esmeralda Brown and Pamela Sparr, representing United
Methodist Women; Meghan Roth, John Hill and Liberato Bautista of the
United Methodist Board of Church and Society; and the Rev. John
McCullough, executive director of Church World Service.
A “crucial moment”
McCullough considered Clinton’s announcement “a very positive
development.” But he is not sure world leaders realize how many consider
the summit to be a “crucial moment” to ordinary folks who “understand
how change in the climate is having a direct impact on their communities
and their quality of life.”
Coming to Denmark was a way to get that message across, he said.
“United Methodists need to understand that these people who gathered in
Copenhagen for the summit see this as a life-and-death issue.”
Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the “pre-eminent
voice” among religious representatives focusing on how climate change
impacts the poor, McCullough pointed out.
When Tutu handed over a clock symbolizing more than 500,000
signatures for climate justice collected by the Countdown to Copenhagen
campaign, the action summed up what the conference was all about,
Watkins said.
“He reminded us of the civil rights struggles in the U.S. and of
apartheid in South Africa,” he added. “In both instances, God’s justice
prevailed. And he stated, with amazing certainty, that God’s justice
would prevail in this case, too.”
Inaction is inadequate
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Representing United Methodist Women were, from left,
Pamela Sparr, Esmeralda Brown, Pat Watkins and Topou Kelemeni. A UMNS
photo courtesy of Pat Watkins.
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Inaction is an inadequate response, said Bautista, who deplored what he
perceived as the muzzling of the “civil society voice” during the
conference’s second week.
“The climate crisis has a human face, and the lack of political wisdom
and courage from the world’s leaders to not seize on this singular
opportunity in Copenhagen is most frustrating, even deadly already, to
so many people in developing countries,” he declared.
Sparr expects progress on climate change “will come sooner at the
grassroots level,” through municipalities and regional governments. “We
have a long way to go before we get international agreement among
nations to set a sufficiently strong, binding target to limit greenhouse
gas emissions,” she added. “At this time, the U.S. government is not
willing to do what we must to meet our moral and legal responsibilities
in this regard.”
Brown foresees a redoubling of efforts by some to assist Pacific
Islanders and others who are among the world’s most vulnerable to the
effects of dramatic climate change.
“I think progress can be made on climate justice issues because we have
the presence and advocacy of the faith community and women’s
organizations, as well as other organizations,” she said.
Young people could be a catalyst for change, said Kelemeni, who was
encouraged by the presence and commitment of the young people she saw in
Copenhagen.
“That was one of the things that made me feel hopeful,” she said. “They
were really willing to give up two weeks of their lives to go there and
make a difference and hopefully make the leaders listen to their
concerns.”
Roth, a 23-year-old student at Wesley Theological Seminary, was one of
those young people.
Her experience at the summit, she said, helped her recognize her
responsibility for Christian stewardship of the Earth. She also is
called to “encourage and equip local communities of faith to see that
responsibility.”
She is considering how to do that work through her connections with
the seminary, with Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., where she
is an intern, and with the Board of Church and Society, of which she is a
director.
Sparr said she realized some “soul work” on environmental stewardship
must be done in the United States.
“We need to spur a deep psychological, emotional and spiritual
shift,” she explained. “As a people, we are comfortable in our
privileges, we tend to be ignorant of what is happening in other parts
of the world as a result of our policies and lifestyles, and we are
fearful of and resistant to change.”
Kelemeni’s concern is that the plight of those whose land is being
washed away or cannot sustain crops will continue to be ignored.
She hopes “the leaders of the world will realize they’re not just
talking about statistics. We’re talking about people’s lives.”
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New
York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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