The Spiritual Imeperative of COP 26: a Vision for the Future

As the United Nations opens its COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow, the leaders of the world face an unenviable task. What hope is there for the future of the world? What might be the part, not just of leaders, but of each one of us? Is it enough for it to be about the agendas of science and technology, of economics and conventional politics? Is it just about the outer life of humankind? Or might we dig deeper, and dig from where we stand? Does a life-giving vision for the future also call upon our inner lives, both individually and collectively? And therefore, is climate change a spiritual imperative? “A basic call to consciousness” as the Iroquois Six Nation Confederacy has called it. And that, to rise to the occasion, to deepen our humanity?

Alastair McIntosh is a member of Glasgow Quaker meeting. He is an activist for social, environmental and spiritual change and an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow. His most recent book, “Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being” (Birlinn 2020) is described by the UN Champion of the Earth, Professor Katharine Hayhoe, as “solidly based on the science yet dedicated to the intricacies of the human spirit.” And by the leading climatologist Professor Michael E. Mann as “a climate primer for our times … a life-giving vision for our collective future”.

 

 

Date: Sunday, 31 October 2021
Time: 19:00 – 21:00 GMT
Location: Quaker Meeting House, 38 Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow, G2 3HU, United Kingdom
Bookings: Online at Eventbrite