London: Christian climate campaigners demand 'No Cop out for COP27'

Campaigner from St George's RC School, Maida Vale, Westminster

'No more fossil fuels - AMEN', 'Deeds Not Words', 'Quakers for Climate Justice' were among the banners of the Faith Bloc at London's COP27 march and rally on Saturday. CAFOD supporters urged, 'Keep 1.5 degrees centigrade alive', among them former director Julian Filochowski and Clare Dixon, Head of Latin America projects. Scientists have said that crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems. Already, global temperatures have increased to more than a degree above pre-industrial levels, causing particularly severe weather in the global south.

The campaigners were taking part in a Global Day of Action which saw more than 40 nationwide demonstrations throughout the UK alone. Organised by the Climate Justice Coalition, protestors took aim at the international COP27 Climate summit taking place in Egypt, claiming that efforts from world leaders to halt a climate catastrophe aren't going far enough. They called on the UK government to do more and in a speedier time frame. Christian Climate Action suggested that 'Climate Inaction = Racism.'

Westminster Justice and Peace Commission had a group led by Colette Joyce, with representatives from a number of parishes, including Hanwell and Wealdstone, and Columban missionaries. Christian Aid called for 'Loss and Damage Now', a reference to how to support developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Tearfund said, 'Climate Justice - money well spent' and A Rocha lobbied on, 'Act on Climate Now for People and Nature.' A contingent from Southwark Anglican Diocese and the Faith for Climate Network asked, 'Keep it in Ground' referring to fossil fuels.

A group of pupils and teachers from St George's School, Maida Vale, Westminster Diocese, had a banner thanking Pope Francis for the 'Laudato Si' encyclical and quoting the Pope's words from 2015: "If we destroy creation, Creation will destroy us!" Another handmade poster carried by the group demanded, 'No COP OUT for COP27,' underlining the concern young people have about the issue of climate change.

Colette Joyce stayed with school students throughout the day., She told ICN: "The whole way round and it was just brilliant to be with them. It the first time at a rally for all of them but they got it instinctively and knew what to do - joining in all the chants and making sure their posters could be seen by passers-by on the buses! There were four from Year 7 and one from Year 12 so we've got the next generation coming along nicely."

The faith bloc gathered at St John's Church Waterloo, where they were welcomed by Rev Canon Giles Goddard and prayers were said in the garden, before moving to join a larger crowd outside the head office of oil giant Shell building on the Southbank. Among these were health workers, scientists and campaigners highlighting the plight of climate refugees. Eco-Sikh called for a 'Loss and Damage Fund Now'. Then thousands marched to Trafalgar Square for a rally.

The date might have been 12 November, but the sunny day felt like late summer and campaigners sat in tee-shirts on grassy spaces near Southbank to enjoy their sandwiches and drinks. All were aware that such unseasonable weather in London is a warning. Dr Neil Jennings of Imperial College London reported last week that, "London is on course to have a climate similar to Barcelona by the mid century - on our current trajectory - and at the moment we've hit around a 1.2C rise in global temperatures."

Then on Sunday 13 November former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gathered in London alongside leaders from other faiths to "offer our voice as a contribution" to work by politicians and negotiators at the COP27 climate summit.

Representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths joined the event organised by the Elijah Interfaith Institute.

As the event began, Dr Rowan Williams told those gathered, "we must confront honestly the destructive habits which continue to limit the possibilities and the hopes of human beings, in a call for wake up and self-examination." The faith leaders climbed Parliament Hill, with scrolls bearing 'Ten Principles for Climate Repentance'. On Friday, Dr Williams urged the Government to insulate more homes and take "a more edgy role internationally" to tackle the climate crisis.