Today the impacts of a warming world are being felt by many, and predictably it is
the poor who are least able to deal with the consequences. Areas of drought are increasing, as are the number of communities forced to uproot by a changing climate. Erratic weather patterns are leading to drastic reductions in crop yields and rises in the sea level are claiming many areas of low-lying lands.
'Climate change is the single biggest long-term problem we face - the evidence is overwhelming.' (Tony Blair)
Our Prime Minister is certainly convinced about the reality of the issue and even the most hardened climate change skeptics are beginning to acknowledge the indisputable facts before them.
'The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.' (Genesis 2:15)
As Christians we can be certain that our calling is the same today, to care for the world that God has made.
For every one of us, there are small changes that we can make to our lifestyle, each of which will reduce our personal contribution to climate change. With a quarter of greenhouse gases coming from households it is vital that we reduce our impact.
Lifestyle change alone is clearly not the answer to global climate change, which is why we need to ask our government to act, reducing their emissions and pushing for legally binding targets. For this very reason, Tearfund are part of Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of environmental and development charities, working together to press for change.
The launch of Stop Climate Chaos, 1 September 2005.