The UN climate summit was a proper big diplomatic event, a long list of presidents and prime ministers along with the likes of Bill Gates, chief execs of various multinationals, and a message from the Pope. But it’s Greta Thunberg’s furious challenge to the leaders, and to all adults really, that I’ll remember longest. I love it when God uses the weak to shame the strong, and this 16 year old girl certainly did that.
Why I'm Taking to the Streets on Friday
This Friday, 20 September, I’m joining thousands of people at what’s expected to be the biggest mobilisation on climate change ever. Events are happening across the world, all organised by young people. We’re coming together to say that governments must engage with the seriousness of the climate crisis and take much more urgent action. We need rapid emissions cuts, a shift to renewable energy, and money for the most vulnerable to adapt. This is no longer scientific forecast: there are many signs that the climate is in chaos, and it’s already hitting the poorest people the hardest.
Renew Our World Ireland: What’s Happening?
At Tearfund Ireland, we talk about the effects of climate change, felt most keenly in the poorest places in the world, while the causes are perpetrated in wealthy countries. Ireland is more resilient to changes in weather than many countries in the Global South, particularly our fellow small island nations in the Caribbean and the Pacific. However, we have seen the effects of a changing climate on our small island as well. In 2018 it seemed that every second headline was about the weather; from severe storms in winter to heatwaves and droughts in summer.
Day Zero - Cape Town
2nd of April 2018 was announced as Day Zero for the City of Cape Town – a city of 3 million people. This meant that all taps would be turned off and 400 temporary taps set up with enormous queues of people waiting in line under the hot sun for 20 litres of water a day per person. The army would be deployed because of potential violence breaking out. Schools would close as there would be no toilets working, and businesses would shut down. There were fears of outbreaks of disease as the sanitation systems broke down. It felt like the apocalypse...
Climate Action Now!
Renew Our World are delighted to announce the launch of our climate global
moment 2019! The growing emergency is the defining issue of our time and now is
the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle
Climate Change in India
The impact of climate change in India has become more sobering than ever before. Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, landslides, and cyclones have become a new normal. The Ministry of Environment has informed us that more than 2,000 people died in India in the last year alone from climate-related events. Yet the Ministry has denied any direct connection to the global issues of climate change.
Climate Change in Mozambique
My name is Rui Antoninho António, and I am a Mozambican, resident in the city of Chimoio. I work for Kubatsirana, a Christian ecumenical association, in the Church and Community Mobilisation and Training project supported by Tearfund.
Solidarity with the Amazon
Given the fires that consume large extensions of flora and fauna of our Amazon, the organizations that make up the Evangelical Coalition for Climate Justice express:
Our deep pain at the shouts and the cry of our territories, as well as the brothers and sisters of the
Week of Prayer in Peru
We contacted some young people from 13 different cities in Peru to lead the Week of Prayer that ran from 3 to 9 June. We asked them to lead this week in their cities, so that they could meet, share and pray, following a guide that we had prepared for the event, in churches and university campuses. Some ran creative ecological awareness activities on university campuses, others organised meetings at their churches to talk about environmental issues with videos, or on a topic related to a case of violation of indigenous rights that occurred 10 years ago in Bagua, in the Amazonas region of Peru. This problem began with the action of the Government, which regarded the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and laws promoting extractivism as more important than the common good.
Waste Work in Mozambique
Moving from Maputo to Chimoio was a life change. As soon as I got to Chimoio, I realised how important my skills and my knowledge of sanitation water and hygiene would be fundamental to improve the lives of thousands of people in the peri-urban areas in Chimoio City. Chimoio is a small city with a modest economy, where retail and services are the main income sources for many people.
Breathing In Plastic
What springs to mind when you think of air pollution? If you live in a relatively developed part of the world, it’s likely to conjure up thoughts about exhaust fumes from cars on busy roads, or dense smoke being pumped into the air from power stations or factories.
Nothing Goes To Waste
Plastic was supposed to make our lives better: simpler and more convenient. But I join millions of people around the world who have woken up to the fact that this is myth. We have a global plastic emergency. A rubbish problem.
