Dear Friends,
What kind of world do we want to live in?
This is something many of us are asking as we just experienced the warmest temperatures ever recorded in the UK in June. Parts of mainland Europe also suffered and still are suffering from a heatwave which may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths according to the World Health Organization, with Germany experiencing its hottest day ever recorded.
If we don’t rapidly change our trajectory and stop burning fossil fuels, future predictions are even more troubling for human health. Last week, the Met Office and a consortium of other groups, including the University of Reading and the Royal Meteorological Society, revealed ‘a plausible scenario’ for 23rd June 2056: peak temperatures as high as 45C in England.
This latest heatwave – not to mention the likelihood of more heatwaves in the weeks and months to come – make the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report urgent reading, and remind us that global overheating isn’t just happening, it’s being funded.
According to the report, the world’s largest banks committed $906bn in financing to the fossil fuel industry last year, up 8% on the previous year – the very reason our Big Bank Switch campaign is calling on UK Christians to stop using fossil fuel-funding high street banks like Barclays and HSBC, and switch to a bank that refuses to fund rising global temperatures.
We are also tackling global heating and its impacts by inviting dioceses, denominations and faith groups to invest in a liveable future and fund climate solutions via our Green Investment Declaration and Green Investment Roadshow, with September stops planned for London and Worcester after a successful first stop in Bristol this month. And it’s why we are continuing to challenge climate misinformation on GB News and call for transparency from its wealthy owner.
