Amanda Jackson, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Micah Challenge.

 It is the poorest who suffer when governments fail to deal selflessly with climate change.

And it is these same governments who been meeting in Durban, South Africa to discuss environmental issues.

The talks have achieved very little at the official level. Sadly, nations are reluctant to commit to actions that may prove expensive in the current economic situation. Few are ready to take bold action if others won’t.

The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is threatened by production practices which look for short term profit and convenience rather than long term development.

The World Evangelical Alliance, with many other Christian groups, like Micah Challenge and international development charities, are concerned about stewardship of basic resources and recognize mankind’s unique role in caring for creation.

If leaders of nations which consume the most energy cannot agree to live more sustainably, we will be held to account by our grandchildren and the grandchildren of millions who live in poverty.

The Bible says: "The Earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof..." Psalm 24:1

Because we have sinned, we have failed in our stewardship of creation. We recognize that it is the very poorest people in our world who are suffering the most from the effects of environmental degradation, but yet did the least to cause it.

We believe that in Christ there is hope, not only for men, women and children, but also for the rest of creation that is suffering from the consequences of human sin.

We recall Jesus' words that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions. So we reject wastefulness and stand alongside all who suffer as a result of environmental degradation.

We know that until Christ returns to reconcile all things, we are called to be faithful stewards of God's good garden, our earthly home.

For more information on Micah Challenge’s response to climate change, see http://www.micahchallenge.org/beinformed/mdgs/mdg7-environment

Peter Vander Meulen, Co-ordinator for the Office of Social Justice, and on the Micah Challenge board.

Hundreds of young people have been showing their social action during this conference in Durban. It is vital that Christians show similar passion in keeping governments accountable for their promises on MDG.

My feelings (after this unbelievably rich two-week crash course in climate change and international relations) are ambivalent: We inched forward but we have miles to go. We have much to do in the next few years – particularly in the US and now also in Canada – to bring the realities of a warming world to those who are willing to act but not yet awake to the lived realities of the most vulnerable peoples.

"Prepare for a marathon not a sprint” said one of the faith leaders who briefed us. She was right. Caring for God’s creation by working for a just and adequate response to a rapidly warming world will be our task for a very long time. It will affect everything we do – both in our own lives and in our ministries.

Sitting in that giant hall in Durban as frustration mounted and the clock moved from Saturday to Sunday, it was easy to criticize the lack of ethical understanding and political will on display. But now I wonder, will the Church of Christ see the urgency of developing its own “long-term cooperative agreement” to stimulate and guide an effective, global response to help those who will inevitably suffer while working to bring about climate justice? Join us!

For more information on the Office of Social Justice, see http://www.crcna.org/pages/justice.cfm

Paul Cook, Campaign and Media Director at Tearfund, is also a member of the Micah Challenge Board.

Timing, ambition and equity were key concerns during COP 17 and, looking at the outcomes from Durban through these lenses, we are concerned that the final commitments were weak and leave too much room for interpretation.

There has not been a sufficient sense of urgency on adaptation during climate talks and, despite hopes that adaptation would feature more strongly at this ‘African COP’, negotiations in this area were sadly slow. Even relatively un-contentious issues took days to agree.

Adaptation should be a priority – because even if greenhouse gas emissions are halted TODAY across the world, the cumulative effect of emissions to date would still be experienced for the next three decades. Only 19% so far of total climate finance money has been allocated to adaptation, but the balance should be 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation.

One positive step was that consensus was achieved amongst ALL countries to finally agree a plan on emissions reductions by 2015 at the latest, with targets that would be legally binding for all countries to kick in by 2020.

For more information on Tearfund’s work, see http://www.tearfund.org/

For more on the Durban UN conference and social action see http://www.climatecaravan.com

See also  http://ontario.mcc.org/creationcare for more information on a Christian response to climate change by Creation Care, affiliated to the WEA