Faith in Community Scotland: Climate change in focus

I must admit that until recently I have had very little knowledge about, and not too much interest in, the topic of climate change. Psychologists talk about the state of ‘psychological distance’, where an issue is perceived as too far off, and too remote, from a person’s reality for them to really engage with it. This is how I felt about issues like climate change. Sure, I’d heard about it here and there in the news, and could sense the growing urgency in which it was being discussed, but the weather where I live in Glasgow is pretty much the same each year, cold and wet! No great seismic shifts to worry about over here?! But with the growing buzz around the upcoming COP26 event in Glasgow, it has made me reflect more on the topic, and try to expand my thinking outside the visible impact it is having in my own small part of the globe. Doing this has helped me better appreciate the impact that carbon emissions have, and how they impact upon the temperature of the planet rising, leading to more climate catastrophes. I have still much to learn, and hope that the COP event itself will help to raise mine and others awareness further.

One thing I have learned though is that it’s not ‘too late’ to make a difference to how the planet will look in future; so what we do today can really have a positive impact for the generations to come. This simple insight has helped to change my more passive attitude to one of being more motivated to playing my part in the effort to limiting global temperature rising to 1.5c, and in being more eco-friendly in how I work and live.

As a community worker, working primarily with communities of faith, it is also interesting to see the development of thought and practice of many faith groups in this area. For instance, to name but a few, the Church of Scotland’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030, the work of Muslim Climate Action and Muslim Aid, and the Catholic Church’s and Pope Francis’ promotion of eco-friendly policies- such as in the papal encyclical Laudato Si. It is an issue that people of all faiths and none can mobilise on, and reflect on how to better care for our common home. As part of our ongoing response to climate change we have launched a small grants fund, and encourage faith communities and associated projects to apply. The funds could be used to develop local green space, raise awareness on climate change or do local clean ups. You can find out more about it here : Greener Spaces, Fairer Places — Faith in Community Scotland