Methodist Climate Cyclist arrives in Copenhagen

Survey shows that 1 in 5 people are using their cars less

Ben Bradley has cycled 140 miles to the United Nations climate change summit at Copenhagen, with a group organised by Christian Aid.

Ben, Events Coordinator for the Methodist Church, has spent the last three days travelling with a team of 28 Christian Aid cyclists to bring a simple message to world leaders in Copenhagen: It’s not raining, it’s pouring – time to act on climate change.

Last month, a survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Methodist Church showed that around 1 in 5 people are using cars less in favour of other forms of transport such as cycling. It also showed that around one in 20 people are flying less.

On arriving in Copenhagen, Ben said: “We may all be tired from cycling, but in an important sense, the real journey starts here. It’s make or break time – at Copenhagen it is essential that our leaders make some hard choices and decide on real action for the future of our planet.” People can find out more about Ben’s journey by visiting his blog: www.climatecycleride.blogspot.com.

The cyclists will join a mass rally in Copenhagen today, lobbying world leaders to take bold action and make real commitments to tackle climate change. While in Copenhagen, Ben also plans to deliver a letter of solidarity from the President of the British Methodist Conference to a church representative from Bangladesh.

The Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the United Reformed Church have urged the European Union to agree cuts of at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and for these cuts to be made without extensive use of carbon offsets. The three churches have produced a report and study guide called Hope in God’s Future. The booklet, available from Methodist Publishing (www.mph.org.uk), takes the reader on a journey using the changing mood of a worship service as a framework for considering climate change and our impact on the planet.

Source: Methodist News Service 12/12/2009

Church leaders urge government to push for commitment at Copenhagen

The leaders of the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed churches have called on the government to put pressure on the world’s richest countries to reach a binding agreement at next week’s climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The churches argue that since developed countries such as the UK and US owe their wealth to activities producing high levels of carbon, they also have a moral responsibility to take the lead in setting measures to counter global warming.

The statement comes amid widespread acknowledge that agreement on a climate treaty at Copenhagen – needed for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 – is unlikely.

The Free Churches have been supporting developing countries in their fight for a deal that mitigates the effects of climate change on the poor and vulnerable, and allows poor nations to develop economically.

The Revd John Marsh, moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, said:

“We share the anger and frustration of the world’s poorest countries with the intransigent positions adopted by negotiators of some of the richest countries ahead of the Copenhagen Summit which has rendered a binding agreement unlikely. The time for talking is over.

“The richest countries have a moral obligation to ensure that a series of clear decisions are now made in order to have a treaty committing them to a cut of greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. We

call on the government to do everything in their power to persuade their American counterparts to commit to this timeframe and target at Copenhagen.”

Source: Methodist News Service 30/11/2009

Methodists Take Action on Climate Change

In case you stop reading before the end of this News Bulletin, I want to draw your attention to the challenge 'Everyone across the connexion is invited to comment'. Please read carefully, on this Blog Action Day:-



Copies of Hope in God’s Future – a report and study guide addressing climate change – are flying off the shelves just days after the first printed editions became available.

The first print run of the booklet has sold out and Methodist Publishing has ordered a second run.

Hope in God’s Future takes the reader on a journey using the changing mood of a worship service as a framework for considering climate change and people’s effect on the planet. It outlines the position of the Methodist Church, The Baptist Union and The United Reformed Church on climate change and invites people to see how deeply faith connects with the challenge facing us.

Thaddeus Dell, Carbon Reduction Policy Officer at the Methodist Church, said: “Hope In God’s Future gets people to understand the science and how this is linked to our Christian theology. Climate change is the greatest challenge to the Church in our generation. The science is overwhelming and it leads us to a moral obligation. It is especially important for people to engage in these issues ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.”

The 2009 Methodist Conference adopted sections one to four of Hope in God’s Future as a draft Conference statement. This means that everyone across the Connexion is invited to comment before it returns to the Conference in 2011.

The study guide offers the full text of the report, as well as ideas for creative activities, inspirational prayers and worship, help and advice for leaders, and suggestions for group sessions lasting one or two evenings or even a whole day.

Copies of Hope in God’s Future are available from Methodist Publishing at £5.00 each, with discounts offered for bulk buys of 10 or more.


Source: Methodist News Service 15/09/2009

Churches warn Prime Minister on moral challenge of climate change

Three church leaders have added their voices to The Church of England and The Church of Scotland’s in warning the Prime Minister that not acting urgently at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference would be a “moral failure”.

The Methodist Church, The Baptist Church and The United Reformed Church have backed Anglican Bishops who said the European Council must seize the opportunity this month to agree a strategy to secure an effective response to climate change at the Copenhagen Conference in December.

Revd Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of The Baptist Union of Great Britain, Revd Stephen Poxon, President of The Methodist Conference and John Marsh, Moderator of The United Reformed Church, wrote to the Prime Minister criticizing the European Commission Communication of January 28 and calling for a comprehensive climate change agreement in Copenhagen.

“We believe that the recent Communication of the European Commission fails to set out clear proposals for a comprehensive, ambitious and equitable new global agreement on climate change,” said the church leaders.

“The current recession stands to impact many in our communities and we recognise that EU Heads of Governments are tempted to use the immediacy of the economic crisis to shy away from taking long-term action on climate change. We are convinced that it would be short-sighted to stimulate economic growth without simultaneously addressing deficiencies in the relationship between economy and ecology.

“We recognise that challenges facing you and other EU Heads of Government when you meet in Brussels in March will be immense,” said the church leaders in their letter. “Yet, if Copenhagen 2009 is to be the moment in history in which humanity has the opportunity to rise to the challenge and decisively deal with climate change, then key aspects of the EU’s negotiating position need revision.”

The letter also advises Gordon Brown that the January 28 Communication needs two revisions. Firstly, the EU’s emission reductions targets must be clearly aligned with scientific evidence to limit long-term global warming to less than two degrees centigrade. Secondly, the EU should invest the financial equivalent of an additional 15 per cent emission reduction in developing countries by 2020.

Source: Methodist News Service 02/03/2009