As the world gets more turbulent, some countries are doubling down on the old, polluting ways of doing things, while others are embracing a clean energy future, with encouraging statistics out this month showing that in December 2025, EVs outsold petrol vehicles in the EU for the first time, while coal-fired power generation dropped in both China and India.
Of course, there are tensions even in the UK which largely understands the need to transition away from fossil fuels. This month, the UK was one of 10 European countries to announce an extraordinary project which, if built, would massively expand offshore wind and build a power grid in the North Sea, with subsea cables able to transfer electricity between countries and ultimately power 143 million homes. And yet two of our larger political parties have denounced efforts to rapidly decarbonise as unnecessary when the opposite is true.
It’s also noteworthy that in recent months, Number 10 blocked the release of a troubling Joint Intelligence Committee report warning of ‘cascading risks’ from the degradation of some of the planet’s most important ecosystems, which could lead to conflict, migration and increased resource competition. Not only is the UK one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, but, as the report reminds us, we are deeply dependent on what happens to nature elsewhere.
How can the Church speak hopefully and prophetically to a world in the midst of a global energy transition and grappling with the need to protect nature? We suggest some ways in this month’s newsletter, including an inspiring film about a Berkshire church that has planted thousands of trees, the World Council of Churches backing our Green Investment Declaration, and more.
