Churches must play a leading role in urging action on climate change. That is the view of Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director, Andy Atkins, who delivered Operation Noah’s annual lecture on 21 November 2012 in Friends House, London.
Addressing the topic, ‘Overcoming fossil fuel addiction – the next moral revolution?’, Atkins challenged the churches and attendees to play their part in fighting for a low-carbon future.
“UK churches were at the forefront of historic campaigns to end the injustices of slavery and child labour. They must now show leadership in ending one of the biggest threats humanity currently faces – our addiction to fossil fuels,” he said.
“Without action, we are effectively breaking our social contract with future generations, sentencing those that come after us, our children, our grandchildren and their children, to climate chaos and all the social and economic consequences that this will cause.
“With UK energy policy standing at the cross-roads there has never been a more important time to act. Churches must join with us in calling for the Energy Bill, which will shortly be going before Parliament, to include targets to get us off our fossil fuel dependency and help build a safer, cleaner future for us all.”
Atkins used to work as the Policy and Campaign’s Director at Tearfund, where he was one of a small group who set up the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign in 2005.