Speak up on climate
Bishop Harold Miller joined with parishioners and Craigavon locals on Saturday 8 October to share a love for nature, people, and places that will be impacted by climate change.
The day began with a guided nature walk at Oxford Island to focus on habitats and wildlife. The cryptic wood white butterfly that is resident in the National Nature Reserve is not found in other parts of the UK. The walk also pointed out the impact of flooding last winter – Himalayan balsam, an invasive species that out–competes native plants, has colonized new areas because seeds were spread by the raised water levels. Businesses and homes in the area also suffered £500K of damage due to the flooding.
Bishop Harold, who is a member of the Board of Tearfund, said, “People from all walks of life who love nature, care for creation, and have a concern for struggling people have decided to speak up. Climate change is an important issue – today we have seen that politicians, churches and community groups can work together for climate justice.”
After the nature walk there was time for a question and answer session with David Simpson MP and Carla Lockhart MLA chaired by Bishop Harold.
Christian Aid’s Education and Campaigns Coordinator, David Thomas, said “This week thousands of people from across the UK are calling on politicians to take action on climate change. We need to shift from a dependence on dirty fossil fuels towards clean renewable sources of energy and Northern Ireland is well placed to lead the way. This is an opportunity to create a cleaner, greener world for our children and grandchildren as well as protecting those who are already on the frontline of climate change in places like Bangladesh and Kenya. We need our politicians to grasp this opportunity.”
The ‘Speak up Week of Action’ is a nationwide campaign organized by The Climate Coalition – a network that brings together over 100 organizations including Christian Aid, Tearfund, RSPB, Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, Greenpeace, WWF–UK, & CAFOD. It is part of an ongoing effort to encourage the shift to 100% clean energy within a generation to protect the people, places and life we love from climate change.