Episcopal Fossil Fuel Resolution
Understand Physical Realities
Accept and Adapt
Live within Gaia
The November 13th edition of the Episcopal News Service features the following post,
At COP29, religious leaders call for ‘regeneration and renewal of our only planetary home’.
In a related World Council of Churches (WCC) post, the Panama Bishop of the Anglican Church of Central America states,
God calls us to take good care of the divine gifts of land, water, and other resources . . . We know that the clock is ticking on climate change. We need to put a stop to fossil fuel extraction and production if we are to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. This is why churches are supporting and calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty now.
Fair enough, but one has to wonder if Bishop Murray and his colleagues have thought through the implications of such statements.
Prior to the industrial revolution that started around 300 years ago, the world’s population was around 1 billion. We are now at 8 billion. This fantastic increase was fueled by coal, oil and natural gas. For example, some have estimated that artificial fertilizers alone allowed the population to increase by 2 to 4 billion. These fertilizers are mostly made from a fossil fuel: natural gas. If we ‘prioritise the urgent phase-out of fossil fuels’ as called for by the WCC, how will we feed those 2 billion people?
