Climate change as a justice issue

Welcome to the third of six of our small-group sessions exploring why and how the church should respond to the climate emergency. As you’ll remember the title for this series of studies comes from a short video clip produced by Hannah Malcolm for the Nazarene Theological College. We’ll watch this again to focus our thoughts.

Hannah justifies the church responding to the climate emergency in terms of beauty, truth and justice. This week we’re going to focus on justice. The session is titled, “Climate change as a justice issue” and sub-title, “How climate change affects the poor most despite being a consequence of the lifestyles of the wealthy (us)”. Climate change has always been an issue of justice – ‘distributive justice’ (the equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens). The world’s richer countries have gained vast political and economic gain through the exploitation of natural resources, leaving the poorer countries to suffer the worst consequences of environmental degradation. “

The justice that Christians seek is one which restores. the relationship between humans and nature, distorted as they are by greed and oppression.”

Keith Hitchman

God of Justice

References to justice appear throughout the Bible; acknowledging that everyone should be treated justly is one of the ways we recognise and celebrate the unique value and dignity of every human being. 

Now watch this conversation between Ruth Valerio (Ruth is Global Advocacy and Influencing Director for TearFund, who has a particular interest in environmental issues)  and  the Archbishop of Capetown, Thabo Makgoba. Listen out at the end for how he relates a passage from the book of revelation to climate justice.

After you’ve finished listening to this just pause for a few months and reflect on whether there is anything you would like to say to God by way of resposne.

Psalm 65 gives thanks for the gift of water:

Psalm 65: 9-13

You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

Water is essential to human life.  Easy access to a safe, reliable supply of clean water is a basic necessity for human flourishing.  According to a 2019 report from WHO/UNICEF 785 million people don’t have clean water close to home.  2 billion people don't have a decent toilet of their own.  3 billion people don't have handwashing facilities at home.  Conversely, in England & Wales each person, on average, uses 141 litres of water each day.

The Vulnerability of the Poor

Now watch this video from the Lausanne Global Classroom:

Jesus stresses what is expected of us in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats:

Matthew 25:31-40 (NRSV)

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Research by Oxfam shows that the world’s richest 10% of people cause 50% of emissions.  The world’s poorest 50% of people contribute approximately 10% of global emissions and receive about 8% of global income.

Data from the World Bank show that the average person in the UK emits 65 times more carbon compared to someone in Malawi. These numbers do not account for the carbon emissions built into making and shipping the technology we’re using, the food that we’re eating, or clothes we’re wearing.

Research by Oxfam shows that the world’s richest 10% of people (us!) cause 50% of emissions.  The world’s poorest 50% of people contribute approximately 10% of global emissions and receive about 8% of global income. Data from the World Bank show that the average person in the UK emits 65 times more carbon compared to someone in Malawi. These numbers do not account for the carbon emissions built into making and shipping the technology we’re using, the food that we’re eating, or clothes we’re wearing.

Our legacy to future generations

So far in this session we have concentrated on the way that the climate emergency impacts on the poor and the injustice of those who have contributed little to the problem reaping the most of the consequences. There is another aspect though in the way that the climate emergency will affect future generations and the injustice of those who have not yet been born reaping the consequences of the way that previous generations have lived. All of us who are living now will leave the planet in a much worse state than it was in when we were born. It is largely our lifestyles that have led to this degradation. Earlier in our lives we could perhaps be forgiven as we “knew not what we did”. More recently, howver, we have continued our lifestyles in full knowledge of the impacts.

This is the end of the third session. If you are working through this as a group you might like to spend a few moments praying together in light of what you have learnt and shared.