Is the climate agenda a bigger threat than climate change itself?
PRAY FIRST that God would give you clarity of understanding and wisdom on your personal approach to the issue.
“Billions of dollars are required, not millions.”
A two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-28) convened on November 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is no small event, as more than 70,000 delegates attend. In addition to top-level international leaders, attendees include business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and, as their website says, “various other experts and stakeholders.”
The U.S. delegation included officials from over 20 departments, agencies, and organizations. Vice President Kamala Harris attended for several days, and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was present for most of the conference. Secretary Blinken, the Director of FEMA, the Administrators of NASA and the EPA, the Secretary of Agriculture, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and numerous White House advisers were also on the official roster.
But by the midpoint of the conference, December 7, reports had surfaced that there was a “stall” on some of the most critical issues. The Loss and Damage Fund seemed to be a significant sticking point. As the head of advocacy for CARE, France, said, “While 16 countries have already made pledges at COP28 to fill the Fund, the total amount so far of $655 million looks more like breadcrumbs. It does not come close to reflecting the scale of the climate crisis. Billions of dollars are required, not millions.”
Money has been a big sticking point at the summit. The Green Climate Fund, for example, is struggling to gain funding. Vice President Kamala Harris promised $3 billion for the fund to benefit poorer nations. But Biden administration officials acknowledge getting Congress to approve the money will be a struggle.
Are humans responsible for climate change?
A 2018 report from the Netherlands declared, “97% of the climate scientists agree that the rising temperature of our planet over the last 100 years is most probably due to human activity…. If we don’t act, humanity will face a planetary catastrophe.”
Climate scientists report that Arctic sea ice was the seventh lowest in 45 years in November 2023. On December 5, the world’s biggest iceberg—three times the size of New York City—broke off from Antarctica and is moving away from its icy parent continent. Another iceberg broke away from its sticking point in January 2023 and has traveled hundreds of miles along the coastline of Antarctica since.
According to NASA, “While Earth’s climate has changed throughout its history, the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years.” They also contend that the “influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact.”
NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, offers other evidence. “Birds are migrating earlier…Lobsters and other marine species are moving north…plants are blooming earlier…mountain glaciers are melting…and the global sea level is rising.”
Other scientists point out that “since the start of the Industrial Revolution, about 1750, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, including coal and oil, have increased greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere.”
The Green New Deal could cost nearly $100 trillion.
Since President Biden assumed office in January 2021, he has used his executive power to establish a $2 trillion plan for the Green New Deal for America to address “the climate crisis.”
Initially, loosely based on the New Deal of FDR, the broad principles of the agenda were achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 2030. According to The Independent, his 10-year national mobilization plan included securing 100 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable and zero-emissions power, building “smart” power grids, overhauling infrastructure with electric vehicles, upgrading existing buildings for maximum energy efficiency, restoring forests, and working with farmers to cut emissions in the agricultural sector. One think tank estimated his plan could cost between $1 trillion and $93 trillion. And many contend the plan does not go far enough.
President Biden has already tasked the Environmental Protection Agency with making rules and regulations. He has adopted an alternative energy production policy, seeking an end to America’s dependency on coal, oil, and natural gas, shutting down pipelines, limiting drilling permits, mandating higher productions of electric vehicles, subsidizing wind farms—including many offshore—and solar collectors, and seeking the promote higher efficiency home appliances.
There are other costs to green energy.
60 percent or more of the nation’s electric grid is powered by natural gas or coal. Officials in New Jersey are questioning whether the deaths of whales in recent months are tied to the development of an offshore wind farm. The massive turbines and arms of land-based wind farms kill birds. In one instance in Montana, the wind farm utility company was ordered to pay over $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed by their wind farms. One report said wind turbines kill 328,000 birds a year. In other instances, solar farms pose a risk to birds and other wildlife.
Lithium batteries needed to power electric vehicles can combust and burst into flames when they get too hot. The rare earth minerals used in those batteries come primarily from China, and mining them creates air and water pollution. Many electric vehicles still have limited range. For long-haul trucks or boats, lithium batteries are not practical. According to Fortune, citing Consumer Reports, “electric vehicle owners report 80% more problems than with conventional cars and trucks.”
Despite the Biden administration’s agreement in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion on constructing thousands of EV chargers across the country, as of December 5, the program has yet to install even one charger. And climate envoy Kerry would like to see airlines power their jets with ethanol fuel from corn.
Where do we go from here?
While international leaders and federal officials debate possible solutions to address the concerns of climate change, the personal impact on individuals is still a sticking point. An August 2023 report from Pew Research reveals that “climate change remains a lower priority for some Americans, and a subset the public rejects that if it’s happening at all.” Most are concerned with the economic impacts and costs to the taxpayer that come with new climate policies.
Some Americans admit to being worried about climate change, but few are fatalistic. Most believe the current problems can still be solved. A study by Yale University said that people of faith display the greatest hope that the world’s ecosystem may well take care of itself.
Psalm 89:11 – “The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the whole world and all that is in it, you have founded them.”
HOW THEN SHOULD WE PRAY:
— Pray that God would grant you wisdom in your own attitudes toward your environment. “God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion…” (Genesis 1:28).
— Acknowledge that God is still in control. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).
— Pray that God would show you how to be the best steward of His gifts to you for the benefit of those who will come after you. “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22).
CONSIDER THESE ITEMS FOR PRAYER:
- Pray to stand strong in the face of those who would threaten your freedom.
- Pray for opportunities to do righteously whatever it is God wants you to do as you care for His Earth.
Sources: UN.org, State.gov, Care.org, UNFCC, New York Times, Trade.gov, The Guardian, Pew Research, NSIDC.org, Scientific American, Climate.gov, Washington Post, The Independent, EPA.gov
