Norfolk Christians speak up for what they love
Members of the Norfolk Christian community joined a mass lobby of Parliament on June 17 to press their MPs on climate issues.
The Norfolk contingent joined 9000 others from around the country to put pressure on the newly elected government to make climate change their priority. The key message of
The Climate Coalition’s For The Love Of… campaign is to speak up for the things people love that will be gone forever if the government doesn’t change direction on climate change.
The lobby was organised by The Climate Coalition and supported by Christian Aid, CAFOD, Tearfund, SPEAK and many other organisations. A full bus load of campaigners travelled from Norfolk to join the march and to speak to members of parliament including Norwich MPs
Chloe Smith and
Clive Lewis.
Campaigners were able to express their vision of a cleaner and greener planet. This high-profile event forced MPs to listen to the concerns from their constituents about this issue that effects us all.
Local
Speak member
Kirstin Aitken, who went on the rally, said, “It was great to be part of this event, as 2015 is a crucial year for action on climate change. We hope that at the start of this new government we can encourage our local MPs to be working towards policies which reduce our reliance on polluting energy, improve green transport and improve the energy efficiency of housing stock.”
Christian Aid’s
Simon Snell said, “It was exciting to be part of a gathering of 9,000 people all calling on their local politicians to do they can do protect all the things we love which are threatened by climate change. As Christians, if we really believe that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”, then we know that we are responsible to him for what we do to it, and all must change behaviour which we now know is damaging his amazing world and hurting our brothers and sisters in more vulnerable environments. I hope and pray that our MPs in Norfolk will do all they can to bring about a just and ambitious settlement in Paris as well as in the UK carbon reduction policies.”
The Lambeth Declaration on Climate Change was launched on the day, outlining the seriousness of the situation and a commitment to assist less economically developed countries with the transition to a low carbon economy. The declaration was signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and representative leaders of the UK’s world faith communities recognising the urgent need for action on climate change.
2015 is a crucial year in the battle against climate change, which is hitting poor people hardest. In December, governments will meet in Paris to reach a fair climate deal. We have a responsibility to act now, for ourselves, our neighbours and for future generations.
Pictured above: David Austin, Kirstin Aitken and Simon Snell with Chloe Smith MP and below: Norfolk campaigners with Clive Lewis MP