Dear Friends,
Despite attempts by some politicians to galvanise opposition to climate policy, a staggering 89% of the world wants stronger government-led action on climate according to a massive 125-country survey, the results of which were released last month.
Fascinatingly, survey respondents thought their pro-climate action views were a minority opinion, which perhaps speaks to the prominence of some climate sceptics, from the UK’s Nigel Farage – who has suggested the UK government’s net zero emissions drive could be ‘the next Brexit’ – to Tony Blair, who last month said a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels was ‘doomed to fail’.
Yet the opinions of Farage and Blair don’t represent the views of the vast majority of the British public – 61% of whom support the UK government’s net zero policy – nor do they reflect global views. In fact, politicians are more divided than the general public on climate, and need reminding of that when they suggest climate targets should be relaxed or abandoned.
By divesting from fossil fuels, scaling up investment in climate solutions, managing Church land for the benefit of climate and nature, confronting banks and insurance companies’ financing of fossil fuels, and lobbying our government for climate action, Churches can lead the way and give the world’s silent majority the confidence to speak up and take action on the climate crisis.
