I have just returned from speaking at a Pan African conference on Faith and the Environment in Nigeria. Putting aside the conflict of issues implied in flying to a conference on the environment, I was really impressed by the passion and commitment displayed by the leaders of both Christian and Muslim faiths. They have gone well beyond asking if we should be doing anything about climate change because it is very clearly impacting their communities.
Their question is "What are we going to do to reduce the impact of global warming on the poor of Africa?" We in the developed world have caused the problems by our carbon dioxide emission but they are suffering the consequences. They acknowledge that Africans have some responsibility for the environmental degradation they are causing, for example deforestation and desertification, and they are doing what they can to get their communities to reduce their environmental footprint, but they need our help. They need us to acknowledge our responsibility and be prepared to make amends.
The Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria started the conference by remarking that when the house is burning down you don't start worrying about who started the fire - you get people safe and fight the fire. I started my talk by apologising for starting the fire. Lets all pull together to put the fire out.
