CLIMATE CHANGE PROTECTION
Our climate is changing, why aren’t we?
Climate change undoubtedly affects every aspect of life. Changing weather patterns can affect how long and hot summers can be, how much rain falls, and even how much water is in our rivers and lakes. But climate change goes beyond weather.
Longer, drier summers mean crops that need rain to produce or they will fail altogether; dried up rivers mean some animals and people have to migrate to find water; and excessive rains can bring about flooding and damage to infrastructure.
These weather changes have major impacts on our well-being and the environment, essentially starting a chain-reaction of alterations that could be difficult to stop.
The effect climate change has on our planet includes:
- Rising temperatures
- Increase in sea levels
- Frequent droughts & heatwaves
- Intense weather changes
- Ocean acidification
- Amongst others
There has been evidence to suggest that climate change is happening. We have seen crops fail due to drought in Africa, hurricanes occurring with more frequency in Central America, and even here in North America our weather patterns have been less consistent.
It is up to us to help protect what we have left of our planet for future generations.
The impact of climate change
Climate change is here – what does that mean?
Things that we depend on and value, such as clean water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, and our health can be impacted by the effects of a changing climate.
Water
Clean water is vital to human survival. The changing temperatures have led to floods and droughts, amongst other disasters, that inhibit our access to clean water and proper sanitation.
Many regions across the globe are facing increased disasters that destroy water sources and sanitation facilities. Learn more below.
Food
Our food supply depends heavily on the conditions of our climate. Even though we have adapted to overcome agricultural challenges, it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with climate changes.
Factors such as increased temperatures, stress on water sources and extreme weather puts food production at risk. Learn more about our efforts below.
Health
The changing climate directly affects our health. Respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, premature deaths related to the extreme weather, as well as water-borne diseases are all threats.
Unless mankind does something to reverse climate change, extreme weather conditions will continue. Heavy rains, hurricanes, and diseases will become more frequent threats to communities all over the globe.
Did You Know?
The effects of climate change we have witnessed:
In May 2020, the concentration of carbon dioxide was the highest it has ever been in human history. It has been at least 4 million years since the Earth experienced temperatures like the current global temperatures.
The past decade has seen the hottest temperatures on record. These warm temperatures have triggered great wildfires across the globe, including in California and Colorado.
The Arctic is heating up more than twice as fast as anywhere else on the planet. When there’s less ice to reflect the sun’s rays, the temperature of the earth increases and throws off the balance of the environment.
Over the past three decades, we have lost more than 690,000 square miles of forested land – that’s the size of Libya.
According to the United Nations, we are quickly heading towards a world that is 3.2 degrees Celsius warmer by the end of the century.
Analysis from Moody’s Analytics suggests climate change damages could cost the world around $69 trillion by 2100.
Ways to make a difference
Here are 2 simple ways you can help with climate change protection
1. Energy usage
Fossil fuels and electricity have a huge role in many aspects of our everyday lives, however, these are also among the biggest contributors to climate change, accounting for approximately 84% of U.S greenhouse gas emissions; with Canada’s emissions growing due to increased emissions from oil and gas extraction as well as transportation.
One of the easiest ways to help support the fight against climate change is to try to use less energy – or become more energy efficient.
Here’s how you can be more energy efficient:
- Reduce consumption of lighting or switch to smart lighting systems
- Change your heating system to a more efficient system, for example, using better insulation to avoid the excessive use of heaters
- Avoid leaving your electrical appliances running on standby
2. Public transportation
There are multiple benefits to the use of public transportation. By switching from your personal vehicle to public transportation, you are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Travelling on public transportation uses less energy and also produces less pollutants compared to private vehicles.
Here are some alternatives you can choose to help reduce pollutants:
- Take the bus
- Carpool
- Reduce plane trips
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment”
– Isaiah 51:6
Our approach to climate change protection
World Renew offers leadership training at a local level, as well as site specific and unique strategies to build resilience against climate change.
We teach communities on the topic of climate change, promote climate change advocacy as well as stewardship and more.
Context-specific and personalized programs
We offer help at a local level to ensure our solutions are tailor-made which allows us to accommodate the different needs of each area and lets us be more flexible in our work.
Local leadership, global impacts
By working closely with communities, we are able to use one of the most underutilized resources – local knowledge.
We lead communities through local knowledge to boost a community’s ownership over certain issues. The small ripples made within a community will echo throughout the country and then be felt everywhere around the globe.
Local leadership creates an endless chain of social change so that a significant issue like climate change can be tackled more quickly and effectively.
Effective holistic approaches
Although we create unique solutions for different places, we maintain a holistic approach to the problem of climate change.
We understand how poverty alleviation, disaster reduction and recovery as well as water and sanitation all contribute to the development of a community – and how this programming directly impacts our climate change protection efforts. You can learn more about our community development programs here.
Creation Care
How climate change impacts communities in Bangladesh
Climate change comes in various forms. In Bangladesh, the wrath of climate change is felt in the form of flash floods, cyclones and storm surges, saltwater intrusion, extreme temperatures, as well as droughts.
Climate Witness Project (CWP)’s Creation Care Curriculum helps small groups and Sunday Schools explore each of these issues more deeply, in Bangladesh, and other countries, all through a biblical lens.
How you can help
The Climate Witness Project
Climate Witness Project provides free resources and consultations to equip nearly 300 churches across 20 denominations to mobilize their communities, conserve energy, and promote justice in responding to climate change. Your gift enables us to empower even more churches to pursue justice for the sake of our planet.
