A Rocha believes all of creation is valuable to God because He made it and sustains it. So we care about climate change because it threatens the living things of God's creation which He has given us to care for. Among many examples, plants depend on the punctual arrival of pollinators, birds feed their young on insects that hatch when the rains come, and in some species the balance of male and female depends on the warmth of the weather. If we change the climate, many animals and plants will be harmed.

Animals and plants also play a crucial part in regulating the climate. Plankton in the sea are vital because they absorb CO₂ and give off oxygen. Forests and wetlands do the same on land. So we need to take care of plants and animals, because they take care of the climate.

The changing climate is hurting people, especially the poor. As Christians one of our core commitments is to communities of people whom God loves. Protecting and caring for the natural world is essential for maintaining a climate in which people can thrive.

Globally the temperature of the world is rising. Of course, weather is always changing. We are used to seasonal fluctuations, and many natural cycles. But this underlying warming trend over the last 100 years is new and different. It is changing the patterns of weather on which we and the natural world rely. This is 'climate change.'

Since the Industrial Revolution about 140 years ago, we have been burning more and more coal, oil and gas for energy. All these fossil fuels give off CO₂ into the air. Under normal circumstances CO₂ in the atmosphere plays a key role in keeping the earth warm enough to live on. It does this by trapping heat through the 'greenhouse effect.'

But we have overdone it. We have put so much CO₂ in to the air that the earth is heating too much too quickly. And now we find the process is difficult to stop.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts greater climate changes are yet to come which will bring unstable, extreme weather patterns and long-term trends of changing rainfall and temperatures to which all life will need to adapt. The challenge is to work together to limit the changes and to adapt to what we can't prevent.

Industrialized countries are the biggest contributors to climate change. Yet it is the poorest people in developing regions such as Africa and South Asia that are most threatened by climate change.

Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity. This may devastate already fragile resources such as clean water, fisheries and forests, and damage agriculture, infrastructure, property and health. Climate change can be catastrophic for people who are dependent on rain-fed agriculture and have no surplus resources or coping mechanisms for the resulting loss of livelihood.

Industrialized countries have a responsibility to dramatically reduce their own emissions while helping developing countries to adapt to climate change.

‘Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism.’
David King, UK government chief scientific advisor, January 2004. 

2005 was the warmest year since records began, and all five of the hottest-ever years have occurred since 1997. Does it matter that the North Pole is melting? It is the knock-on effects around the world that will hurt. The seas are creeping over island homes in the Pacific. Australia has a record drought. Insurance companies refuse flood cover in many parts of the UK.

It is expected that temperatures will continue to rise by between 2°C and 6°C by 2100. This represents a far greater change than has happened for at least 10,000 years. It is the speed of change that concerns scientists, giving little chance for people and ecosystems to adapt.

The Kyoto Protocol is an internationally binding agreement setting targets for industrialized countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol was agreed in 1997, and in 2005 it became a legally binding treaty between 38 countries, with the notable exception of the USA. It runs out in 2012.

Many people are disappointed that Kyoto has not had the impact hoped for. Attention has turned to the meeting in Copenhagen in December this year where the world's leaders must agree how they will tackle climate change after 2012.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most important greenhouse gas which is increasing in concentration because of human activities. CO₂ has contributed about 70% of the enhanced greenhouse effect to date, methane about 24% and nitrous oxide about 6% (Houghton, 2004).

Other greenhouse gases, such as water vapour, form a vital component of the normal beneficial greenhouse effect, but they are not contributing to climate change as much as CO₂ because their concentration is not so directly affected by human activity.

Climate change is already happening, so it is too late to prevent it. The climate responds slowly. Today’s climate is influenced by the CO₂ emissions of last century. It is a bit like turning a supertanker round.

The action we take now will determine how bad it gets. Strong action now will reduce the damage and, in the long run, cost less. Climate change in 40-50 years’ time will be determined by our current emissions.

Records over the last 50 years show the average amount of sunlight reaching the ground has steadily decreased. This is because tiny particles of pollution in the high atmosphere encourage cloud formation, which reflects some light back into space. This is called global dimming. It does tend to reduce global warming, but it also causes significant damage to the climate in its own right. So we should not rely on it.

The average rise of 0.6°C in global temperature changes over the last century doesn’t sound much, but it is already responsible for rising sea levels, melting ice, heatwaves, extreme weather patterns, floods and droughts. These have devastating consequences for people and ecosystems.

The main greenhouse gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They are called greenhouse gases because their role in the atmosphere is like the glass of a greenhouse (or a blanket), trapping heat.

Without this protection the earth would be too cold for life. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is changing because of human activities.

All countries emit some CO₂, with the USA and Europe producing the most. China’s economy is rapidly expanding, with huge increases in oil consumption and coal production.

Read more: National Energy Foundation

(Source: www.nef.org.uk)

Where can I find more information about climate science?

Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research
Climatic Research Unit
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The recent long and tense international negotiations resulted in the Bali Roadmap, a fragile agreement to continue working against climate change. Climate Stewards particularly welcomes two of its aspects:

First, there is recognition that funds are needed not just for the prevention of climate change, but also for helping ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them to adapt to climate change, which is now unavoidable.

Second, delegates edged towards an understanding of how the management of existing habitats of many kinds, to avert degradation and destruction, is crucial in tackling climate change. Wetlands and prairies sequester vast amounts of carbon, so their destruction contributes to climate change and their maintenance and restoration can mitigate it. Deforestation contributes about 20% of current emissions of carbon dioxide, so avoiding deforestation, though difficult, is also essential.

Actually, all meaningful ways of tackling climate change are hard. In Ghana, where the first Climate Stewards project is located, we are encouraged by the progress under the leadership of Emmanuel Akom and Daryl Bosu. Independent reports say the first year’s planting has gone very well with a high survival rate of seedlings in most areas. However, in a few places, due to flooding, the seedlings became waterlogged and died, while in others drought ruined the harvest of groundnuts which are intercropped in places with the seedlings.

If Climate Stewards were a business looking only for the most cost-effective way to offset carbon, we might feel under pressure to work in lower risk areas. But as a global programme of A Rocha we are committed to the communities with whom we work. The climate is theirs too. So Emmanuel and Daryl organised the replacing of the dead seedlings and we did not accept our share of the meagre groundnuts harvest.

This is the fastest growing emissions sector, as more and more people (and freight) travel by plane. Although mile for mile per person planes emit no more CO₂ than cars, at high altitude the damage caused by emissions is greater because this is the most vulnerable part of the atmosphere.

Yes! Taking off uses more fuel per minute than cruising, so short flights are also damaging.

• The amount of CO₂ quoted can vary because the calculation may be complex. For example, on a flight the CO₂ emissions apportioned to you will depend on the type of aircraft, number of passengers, distance flown, air temperature, wind, fuel load etc. In practice each calculator chooses a set of sensible assumptions (which it should explain).
• The price of offsetting a tonne of CO₂ varies because the costs depend on the location and type of project.

A full jumbo jet on a long-haul flight uses about the same amount of fuel as if each of the passengers drove their own vehicles the same distance overland. So the amount of CO₂ per person per mile works out about the same. But the plane is worse because it also gives out water vapour, nitrous oxide and particulates at high altitude.

Climate Stewards aims to provide a service that is both informative and user-friendly. The scheme is most likely to work if it is clear and easy to navigate. For this reason calculations are based on average figures and mileages.

Both have their place. Trees capture CO₂ from the air as they grow. The latest scientific evidence suggests that ‘tropical forests present a win-win because they cool the planet by evaporative cooling and the uptake of carbon’. For details, click here

Well-managed tree-planting provides employment, sustainable fuel, food, and habitat for wildlife. It can also help to improve the land. Projects which produce renewable energy or promote energy efficiency reduce CO₂ emissions in the first place.

We completely agree. Huge amounts of carbon are locked up in forests and other eco-systems, such as root biomass in intact prairies and marshlands. Forest destruction alone is responsible for 25% of all the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year. Deforestation and habitat destruction damage the livelihoods of forest-dwelling and rural communities and increase their vulnerability to poverty as well as  accelerating global warming.

It was only at the UN Conference on Climate Change at Bali in December 2007 that world leaders accepted that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and ecosystem Degradation (REDD) was just as important as habitat restoration. The next task is to work out how to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we have saved when we protect a forest, i.e. how much would have been emitted if we had not protected it in the first place. Governments are still negotiating standards for putting a value on incentives for saving forests.

We don’t plan to wait for the REDD standards to be issued before we make a beginning. Deforestation is both caused by, and a cause of, poverty for over a billion people who live in and near forests and depend on them for food, fibre and fuel. So in addition to the Climate Stewards tree planting work, A Rocha has been actively protecting forests, wetlands and other habitats on which all parts of God’s creation depend. Indeed, A Rocha has been working with local communities for 25 years to prevent the destruction of places God created as homes for many species.

Yes. The Climate Stewards carbon calculator  provides a guideline as to how much of a donation would cover the costs of planting trees to offset specific activities, but you do not have to donate exactly the amount calculated. If desired, you can give more or you can proceed directly to A Rocha's donation page  to make a donation to A Rocha’s global work preserving habitats and helping to reduce the impact of deforestation.

Certainly. Offsetting projects can really help to slow down and reduce the impact of climate change, but most scientists agree that significant worldwide CO₂ reductions are vital to keep climate change within manageable limits.

Reducing CO₂ emissions is slow, but you can offset immediately. Voluntary offsetting slows down climate change and reduces the impact on the poor, who are most at risk. Offsetting reminds us that climate change is our responsibility and creates a self-imposed incentive to reduce our emissions. Offsetting demonstrates to politicians that we are serious about wanting action on climate change.

About half the weight of a tree is carbon. When trees die and decompose, the carbon they absorbed while they were growing is gradually released into new growth, soil and air. By planting lasting forests we are ensuring the carbon is locked up for generations in the trees and wood that is harvested.

Methane is an extremely damaging greenhouse gas which is about 20 times more destructive than CO₂. Until recently it was thought that plants could not give off methane, but research at the Max Planck Institute has demonstrated that under carefully controlled laboratory conditions some plants can. Further work will be required before we can know what effect it has on our calculations.

Read more: Forestry Commission.

Not on its own. However, it is something positive we can do right now without having to wait for the research and development of new technologies. We believe tree-planting will be a useful and significant part of the solution over approximately the next 50 years when carefully managed with additional social and biodiversity benefits.

Some people are so enthusiastic about reducing CO₂ emissions that they think any other response is an excuse for doing nothing. By contrast Climate Stewards believes that offsetting can demonstrate real concern about climate change and reduce its impact on millions of vulnerable people. It’s also a practical way of getting people started on planning to reduce their CO₂ emissions.

We aim to give 80% of public donations to our front line projects. Of the remainder, half goes toward planning new projects and running Climate Stewards. The other half goes to A Rocha as our contribution to the overheads of running the international organization.Since the start of the Ghana project in 2007 we have achieved our 80% target.

If you Gift Aid your donations (only applies to UK tax payers), the tax we reclaim from the UK government goes toward new projects and running Climate Stewards.

The most important thing is that we all reduce our energy use as much as possible. The calculations are for your guidance: what you are able to give is a decision only you can take, but if you aim to be carbon neutral you should give the full amount calculated or reduce the travel you do by car or plane.

There are several reasons:

• The latest scientific evidence suggests that tropical forests are best for preventing climate change because they cool the planet both by evaporative cooling and the uptake of carbon. For details, click here
• Offsetting projects reduce poverty, so it makes sense to locate them where poverty is a major problem.
• Putting our projects in developing countries means they don’t count towards the CO₂ target of any Kyoto signatory country. All the developed countries still have to take action to meet their own obligations.
• Costs are low in developing countries, so our limited funds can have the maximum impact.

In many places where farmers are destroying forest in order to grow crops and graze animals the farms are not actually sustainable. Poor tropical soils quickly become impoverished and eventually are washed away. Forest is often the only form of cover which lasts and retains the soil. It is important that we find ways for people to utilize the forests to support their livelihoods without destroying the trees.

Climate Stewards projects are designed to meet the international standard of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance. This means that Climate Stewards projects have to be independently verified as effective in three separate ways. They have to be good for the climate, and also for the local people and wildlife.

Our Ghana projects are currently being assessed. We expect to be attain the standard in a year or two.

• Climate Stewards aims to offer offsetting projects featuring renewable energy, energy efficiency and tree-planting. We still include tree-planting because it is an affordable way of sucking CO₂ out of the air and locking it up for some time. Tree-planting also has particular benefits for local people and wildlife. Plus it is effective at engaging people who are new to the climate change debate. True, there are risks such as fire and decay, but that means we should plant more trees to take account of such losses.
• Significant reduction in CO₂ emissions is our goal. But that too carries the risks of economic chaos, hunger, conflict, mass migration, police states… Our response has to be to proceed with care, reducing the risks in any way we can.

Climate change is both a personal and a global issue. It is up to us all to take individual action and support local, national and international action. Climate change has been caused by lots of people doing small things: the solution will be the same.

‘Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.’
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), English parliamentarian, philosopher and ethicist

God created a perfect world in which humans were given freedom of choice. This freedom and moral decision-making are fundamental to human nature. We (the human population) have for many years made bad environmental decisions associated with thoughtlessness, greed and selfishness, and nature is paying the price. Now we need to use the same freedom to make good decisions over climate change.

A fundamental part of being a Christian is the responsibility towards God’s gift of creation for this and future generations. Caring for the whole environment includes addressing the accompanying issues of poverty, justice and equity. This is an opportunity for Christians to demonstrate a practical outworking of God’s love for all creation.

Christians believe that ‘the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it’ (Psalm 24:1). This means that everything ultimately belongs to God. Christians also believe that God has entrusted the responsible care (stewardship) of the earth and its resources to humanity, and we must answer to God for how we treat the planet. The purpose of the earth (creation) is not to suit us or to fuel our ambitions, but to bring glory to God.

We recognize and regret that Christians have often failed to be good stewards of the earth, and have sometimes justified its exploitation and abuse. As the damage caused by our over-consumption of fossil fuels becomes ever more obvious, we are committed to reducing our impact, both by lessening our use of fossil fuels (e.g. by cutting unnecessary journeys) and by compensating for the pollution we emit, through the Climate Stewards scheme.

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