Christian Aid Week this year takes the theme of Climate Justice, and the charity is using its annual campaign to draw attention to ecological and social exploitation. Reading the resources on offer, I was struck by these words on one of their posters:
“Christ came to challenge authority with his gospel, to speak against any form of injustice and to protect the vulnerable, poor and the oppressed. God has called us to use our prophetic voice to hold to account the powers of ecological and social exploitation. A prophetic voice speaks with moral courage to effect change, and assures people and the oppressed that justice will prevail.”
There is no doubt that we need radical change. Climate change is deeply unjust; those who have contributed least to carbon emissions are those who suffers most and suffer soonest, as highlighted by Christian Aid’s Black Lives Matter Everywhere report . To achieve climate and social justice, we need to do things differently. But how can we make and sustain these changes?
If we see ‘going green’ as a series of mild inconveniences that we’ll undertake because of social pressure or a vague sense that we ‘ought to’, we aren’t engaging with the deep spiritual truth that, as Bishop Richard has put it, “our Christian faith, calls us to live in love and harmony with God, our neighbours and our environment”. This is much more radical than it sounds, since in our toxic world the systematic exploitation of both people and natural resources in poorer countries has become an absolute norm.
On a purely personal level, one of my starting points has been to become an ‘ethical consumer’. I fail regularly. My supermarket trips are fraught with label-reading as I try to work out the least worst option, torn between fruit that is Fairtrade (but plastic wrapped) or packaging-free (but not Fairtrade), to give just one example! As Guy Watson of Riverford veg company says, “Putting perishable produce, which will be gone in a week, into a plastic punnet which will last a lifetime really should insult our souls.” At our recent monthly drop-in Eco Church Surgery, one consumption topic that came up was the pros and cons of recycled versus FSC-certified paper (recycled wins, for what it’s worth, but only if it’s genuine!), and it’s heartening to know I’m not the only person wrestling with these thorny issues.
When I do fail, as is so often the case, I remind myself of the workers who are paid a fair wage because of the bananas I bought today. I like to think of the fish who may survive because I bought eco-friendly washing up liquid that won’t contribute to aquatic toxicity, or because I chose a tin of sustainable sardines. It’s not much but it’s a start.
And however complicated these issues of consumption, I’d rather agonise and keep trying than give up. Because we are just so lucky in this country. How can we complain about changing our lives when we are currently protected from the worst impacts of climate change by an accident of geography? Equally, how could I complain about these privileged shopping decisions when so many of my own neighbours in London don’t have the choices I’m describing. For too many people, such choices are made for them by economic necessity and financial hardship. Even in the UK, it is poor communities who suffer most from environmental impacts such as pollution. Climate justice and social justice are intertwined the world over.
All too often, I am made aware of the absurdity of my small efforts to live sustainably. Personal actions are a drop in the ocean, and the polluted, litter-strewn high street where I live in South London at times almost seems to mock my attempts. Systemic change is what is so desperately needed, to effect real change on a global scale. However, I remind myself that every system is made up of individuals. Without individuals calling out for change, nothing will happen. Only by changing ourselves can we change the world.
This kind of change, on the scale required to avert catastrophic climate change, is a big demand. Sometimes people are scared or angry at the thought, suspecting that environmentalists want to take away all our comforts and send us all back to live in caves. True climate justice would be nothing like that.
In fact, the “evidence grows day-by-day that a decarbonized world is a more attractive world”. We would not be sacrificing a good world for a worse world in a just climate transition. A sustainable, renewable world would be better for everyone. Imagine the end of pollution. Imagine clean, endlessly renewable energy for all. The end of poisonous pesticides that blight and shorten the lives of millions. The end of deforestation and farming practices that strip the soil of goodness. The end of single-use packaging, litter and landfill. Fewer cars, more trees, better health. This is not a nightmare world of inconveniences and limitations. This is a dream of human beings living in love and harmony with each other and God’s creation.
Whether we like it or not, the world is changing around us. Covid-19 has brought fear and uncertainty, but the impact of climate change will be far worse if we do not take urgent action. We have damaged God’s good world and now we must adapt to survive. If we see this moment as an opportunity actively to live out our faith, we may find that such change is not a sacrifice after all but brings with it great joy.
Christian Aid Week is a timely reminder to us all to step up and take action. For more environmental resources and links, visit the Southwark environment page.
