COP29 - 14 November 2024
God the Sustainer - the gift of energy

reflection 

We've reached day four of our reflections and now we're in Genesis and, aptly, reading the narrative about the first four days of God’s creation of our universe. Whether you read the early chapters in Genesis literally or poetically, these verses speak of a creative and hugely innovative God. Most of us probably read them and see God creating our living environment: day and night, the sun, moon and stars; the sky above and ground below; seas, lakes and rivers; vegetation to feed us and give us pleasure through its beauty. But hidden in plain sight in these verses, is God’s creation of energy.

In the first four days of the narrative, God creates the potential for wood- and coal-burning fires and steam. He creates the potential for hydro power schemes, for biomass boilers, for wind turbines and solar power.  At the end of Day 4, the only thing missing from the equation is people to harness this potential. We humans don’t arrive on the scene until Day 6, but we arrive gifted with the curiosity and intellect to work out how to use these resources to produce energy. We have a wonderful God!

But the energy scene is now hugely complicated.  We may just flick a switch to heat and light our homes, but the energy consumed comes at a far greater cost than it used to, financially and environmentally. When we burn coal, oil and gas, we're consuming three finite resources, but more significantly, we're throwing large amounts of carbon dioxide and other nasties into the atmosphere, and pushing global temperatures upwards: the impacts are enormous. And we are also using far too much energy. We are destroying many of the finely tuned balances that God hard-wired into his creation, and causing a lot of suffering for people in poorer and more vulnerable parts of the world.

The solution seems obvious: use less energy and switch to cleaner energy options such as solar, hydro and wind power. We are on that journey the world over, but it's not always easy, as some of the issues set out below attest to. As you read them, ask yourself how many of them can be scaled down and applied at a personal level, and ask God to prompt you about the areas he wants you to consider for yourself or to pray about at a national or global level.

• Our energy infrastructure is set up for predictable energy production, and tends to be centralised. We’re going to have to change a lot of technology to switch to 100% clean energy.

• Even though there can be significant savings in the long term, it costs to transition.

• Present-day pressures continually push us into a short-term outlook.

• Just reducing consumption will take effort and sacrifice to address.

• Large companies make a lot of money out of fossil fuel, and profits will inevitably be affected. These companies have loud lobbying voices, and they employ many people whose livelihoods will be affected.

• There are countries in the Global South whose economies currently depend on the oil they export to the North.

What are your feelings about these issues?

prayer

Father God, creator of all good things. We thank you for the fuels that have driven change and which give us power, light and warmth.

We pray for those in the UK currently suffering fuel poverty, that they will have the resources to keep warm and food to eat.

We thank you for all those working to make technological breakthroughs in shifting the reliance on fossil fuels and delivering ‘clean energy’. We ask that there will be funding and solutions that can quickly be implemented.

Amen

at cop29

Energy is a major focus at COP29, and will be discussed tomorrow (15 November 2024), with several key discussions and initiatives aimed at addressing climate change through sustainable energy solutions. Here are some highlights:

1. Energy Transition Dialogues: The International Energy Agency (IEA) is hosting high-level dialogues to build consensus around pathways to limit global warming to 1.5°C. These dialogues focus on implementing energy pledges made at COP 28, such as tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements

2. Just Transition: There is a strong emphasis on ensuring a just transition to clean energy, which includes protecting workers' rights, creating new job opportunities, and supporting communities affected by the shift away from fossil fuels.

3. Methane Emissions: Reducing methane emissions is another critical topic, as methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Discussions will focus on strategies to curb methane emissions from various sources, including the energy sector

4. Clean Cooking: Access to clean cooking solutions is being addressed, with initiatives aimed at reducing indoor air pollution and improving health outcomes in developing countries.

5. Energy Storage and Grids: Scaling up energy storage and modernizing grids are essential for achieving renewable energy goals. This includes adding or refurbishing millions of kilometres of grids and increasing energy storage capacity.

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🗓️ Today at COP29: The focus is on Finance, Investment and Trade.