Quakers consider next steps for climate justice
‘At a deeper level we need paradigm shifts in the way humanity lives on the earth. Maybe the way we can do this is by sharing at all levels.'
Friends have been reflecting on the next steps for climate justice after a ‘disappointing’ COP26. As London Quakers gather this weekend to consider ‘Stubborn Optimism’ in the face of the challenge, other Friends are discerning how to move forward. Writing on the Quakers in Britain website, Olivia Hanks called COP26 ‘an outrage’ but urged Friends to ‘take heart from the extraordinary work we have done together’.
Martin Mansell, from Glasgow Meeting, told the Friend that, while the outcome of COP was disappointing, there were achievements. ‘This COP finalised the Paris Agreement Implementation Rulebook after some four years of arguing, and the 1.5C target is still there. If all the commitments are honoured, it is said we could be heading for 1.6–1.8C, which could have been a lot worse. The principle of “loss and damage” and the responsibility of industrialised countries to recompense other countries for the damage caused by our historic emissions has now been established.’
Our main job now, he said, is to ensure that the commitments made are fulfilled. ‘Scotland is the first country to set up a fund specifically to address loss and damage and our parliamentary engagement officer is already working with sympathetic MSPs in parliament to find out what this will mean in practice. We also need to press for transparency about whether, or how much of, the £100bn promised to poorer countries will be direct payments, rather than loans which will cripple the poorer countries even more as they pay exorbitant interest rates to foreign banks. For the first time the issue of military emissions, which up to now have not been included in any country’s data, was mentioned and this needs to be highlighted.’
Jonathan Baxter, who attends Edinburgh Meeting and organised the Pilgrimage for COP26, agreed there is hope after COP and ‘it is around the vacuum between what people want and what the political leaders are prepared to do, and in that gap lies the possibility for action’. Individual action can make a difference, he said, but the real power lies in institutions, and through that individuals will get involved. There are ‘real practical opportunities involved in building use. It’s not just about Quaker Meetings retrofitting buildings, but about what kind of civil society they create by the organisations they allow to use their space.’
Quaker Laurie Michaelis, coordinator of Living Witness, told the Friend that the impetus now is to create the will to change. Solutions needed are not just individual, he agreed ‘but part of the problem is that people don’t want to talk about it being individual and want to make it a bad story about power, rather than something where we’re all part of the problem’. He has recently co-started a sustainability group which is planning an ‘energy day’. ‘What I hear people are concerned about is the gas boiler phase-out and high energy prices. That’s probably the worst gap in government policy: home insulation and energy conservation.’
Green building expert Chris Herring, from Huddersfield Meeting, told the Friend that ‘COP26 did make some gains…But none have been able to bring to the table the more radical paradigm shifts needed’. Right now, he says, we need ‘damage limitation’. ‘This for me means continuing to work on promoting better, more efficient and more truly sustainable buildings. But it has also prompted me to get more involved locally, working as a member of our newly-formed Climate Commission in my own Local Authority.
‘At a deeper level we need paradigm shifts in the way humanity lives on the earth. Maybe the way we can do this is by sharing at all levels: simply talking to people, teaching our children and grandchildren and being the change we want to see. While the science is bleak, we simply cannot function without hope.’
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