TrewsNews

At the 2017 Church of Ireland General Synod a motion was passed to divest from coal and tar-sands. This blog post explains how it happened. Post-synod pub dinner We met in Bobby Byrne’s Pub for dinner in Limerick after the 2017 Church of Ireland General Synod.   Motion 11 on climate change and fossil fuel investments had just been passed. It committed the Representative Church Body (RCP) to divest from coal and tar-sands, reduce the carbon footprint of the investment portfolio, support collaborative engagement, and divest from oil and gas companies that are not serious about the change to a low carbon economy. Over dinner I was asked by some friends, ‘How did you learn about church divestment from fossil fuels? ’ Typhoon Haiyan Photo:  Lawrence Ruiz  I explained what had impacted me, ‘A few years ago my passion for climate justice was lit after the Super Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. This was the strongest storm ever to make landfall a...

The Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of South America, Bishop Greg Venables is calling together the bishops of six countries in South America to discuss the challenges posed by climate change. Bishop Venables said, “The gathering is aimed at equipping bishops and Church delegates in defining the focus and strategies to respond to the ever-growing environmental challenges resulting from climate change. In particular, the event will provide a space for mutual learning and reflection in order to define concrete steps that will put the Fifth Mark of Anglican Mission into action: ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’” This is a timely call to action. For a number of countries in South America are beginning to suffer severe impacts from climate change. For example, 70 % of Peru’s hydroelectric power and Lima’s drinking water comes from glacial meltwater. Glaciers that have shrunk by a third since 1970 and, at the current r...