2015 brought the papal encyclical on the environment, new strong commitments to environmental stewardship by the U.S. government, new innovations in renewable energy development, strong grassroots movement building, and the global Paris agreement. Having attended part of the UNFCCC COP21 climate talks in Paris in December and reflecting here on the blog with you and others, I now am excited this month to see what 2016 might bring. It is a new year, and we have new opportunities to work locally, regionally, and globally for God’s creation.
As the world and the nation takes on the international invitation to drastically limit greenhouse gas emissions and to move away from a fossil fuel economy, each of us in our own communities and states will find appropriate ways to take this call to heart. What might you help bring to fruition? Whether it’s your state’s part of the EPA Clean Power Plan, your encouragement for Congress to support the Green Climate Fund, the adoption of President Obama’s Power Plus plan, or important changes in your own home, work, and church spaces, we all have our part to play.
I pray your New Year has new energy to dedicate to this wondrous creation as we work together to care for it. And as we continue to reflect on what last month’s international agreement may mean for us, here are a few articles from the end of the year related to the Paris COP 21 talks that you may not have seen:
Creation Justice Ministries’ statement
Collection of ecumenical tweets