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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The Archbishop of Canterbury has made a powerful intervention pressing for urgent action to address the climate crisis before it is “too late to save the world”.
Writing exclusively for The Independent, Justin Welby stated that “God is green” and those who claim to be Christian but argue the climate crisis is “a hoax” are wrong. Britain’s chief cleric has defiantly told his detractors he “won’t be silenced” as he enters what he sees as the most crucial debate of the current age.
He said: “If it is interfering to seek to avert the climate change catastrophe, let us interfere.”
His intervention comes as The Independent prepares to host the Climate 100 event in New York with keynote speaker, former prime minister Baroness Theresa May, and publishes its inaugural Climate 100 List celebrating the world’s foremost environmentalists.
Baroness May herself has come in for criticism from members of her own party for pushing the climate crisis agenda, particularly by forcing through the clean air legislation which became the basis of London’s expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).
And the archbishop, like other prominent figures in the debate, has been the target of political attacks and abuse for taking a stand.
But in the defiant opinion piece, Archbishop Welby insisted that he “will not be silenced” on the issue.
His piece also takes on a growing political narrative from the right of politics against action on the climate crisis.
Donald Trump has described the science behind the crisis as “a hoax”, while Nigel Farage has called it “a scam”, with those claims repeated at the Reform UK party conference last week and at Republican presidential rallies in the US.
But even more concerningly, the climate crisis sceptic agenda has crept into the more mainstream Tory party, with the candidates to replace Rishi Sunak as leader all pledging to row back on measures to help bring down CO2 emissions.
This comes after Sunak postponed targets on banning cars which use diesel and petrol and granted licences for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Often, politicians claim that measures needed to reduce carbon emissions are too expensive for ordinary people, while others point to countries like China that are not trying to reduce CO2.
In his uncompromising piece, Archbishop Welby made it clear that those with faith should support tackling the climate crisis.
He wrote: “God is green, and He calls on us to be green. It is vital that we tread carefully, and respond to the urgency of the climate emergency, and curb the effects of the climate crisis. And this means waking up to the reality of the crisis.”
He made it clear that he fears that the climate crisis sceptic narrative is too often coming from Christian communities.
He said: “It dismays me when I hear Christians disputing scientific facts or saying that it is simply God’s problem. That is to misunderstand the awesome responsibility that God entrusted us with in caring for his planet and its people.
“It is a moral imperative to do as much as we can not to destroy the green world that God created for us. And we must act now, before it is too late.”
With Mr Trump in the running for a second term as president and resistance to tackling the climate crisis persisting in major powers such as China and India, the archbishop lays out a mission to convert world leaders to the cause of saving the planet.
He said: “We must seek to persuade the powerful that it is in their interest to do good and be green. Some never will and we have to accept that. Cynics, some of whom even call it a hoax, will accuse us of interfering in politics. If it is interfering to seek to avert the catastrophe of the climate crisis, especially as it affects the poorest, then let us interfere. I call it humanitarian care.”
The Independent’s Climate 100 event will take place in New York City on 25 September to mark the launch of the Climate 100 List, a roll call of leading climate activists, innovators, scientists, business leaders, creators, policymakers and entrepreneurs from around the world, selected by The Independent.
Taking place during Climate Week NYC, the event will be broadcast over Zoom, and you can attend online for free. Simply register here to reserve your place.
