A MOMENT FOR MISSION, MONTH OF JUNE

 Social Action Spotlight – The Climate Crisis is Also a Human Crisis

Drought. Heat waves. Rising sea levels. Flooding. Severe storms. These are among the impacts of the climate crisis that are causing people to flee their homes and livelihoods all over the world. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, on average, 20 million people are displaced by extreme weather events each year. It is estimated that, by 2050, the number of people who will be displaced by climate-related disasters will top 200 million.

The climate crisis poses an increasing threat to vulnerable populations around the world, and the effects are distributed very unevenly across the planet. Indigenous people and people in the global south—those who have contributed the least to global warming—are among the most vulnerable to its effects. Many churches have called for the transfer of resources from affluent nations to low-income countries, as well as for debt cancellation in reparation for the irreversible loss and damage that has resulted from a warming climate.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada believes that wealthy countries’ use of fossil fuels for much longer periods (e.g., since the Industrial revolution) confers an ethical responsibility on wealthy countries to support countries that are least able to adapt (A&P 2010, pp. 390–405, 17, 39), and endorses the principles of a “just transition,” the implementation of actions and policies to lower carbon emissions and counter climate change while also taking significant steps to support workers and families in the industries and communities affected (A&P 2021, pp. 408–411, 38).