To "repent" is to turn or change directions. Repenting often gets a bad rap by associating it with guilt, but at its best, it means to change one's ways for an alternative. Concerning climate change, repentance involves three moves: to prevent, to adapt, and to compensate. Prevention is all about stopping carbon emissions from reaching the atmosphere in the first place. It has been the main focus of the climate change movement, and should continue to be so, in spite of the fact that half of all human-driven carbon emissions have occurred in the past 25 years.
Adaptation is where many governments are beginning to focus as they recognize that climate change is already here. It asks, "What can we do to minimize its impacts?" In California at least, adaptation means preparing for reduced mountain snowpack and stream flows, potential disruptions to agriculture, more frequent wildfires, flood damage to coastal communities, and public health risks from more frequent heat waves. It will be expensive, but wealthy areas like ours have the wherewithal to make the best of a bad situation.
Compensation recognizes that for some communities, changes will be too great to adapt to: they will need to be compensated for the damage some have done that others pay for. This includes island nations or poor communities around the world (as well as in the United States) who simply can't build a bigger seawall or pipe in water from further away. Compensation targets those companies and governments most responsible for global warming of which only 90 have caused two-thirds of all carbon emissions since the year 1750.
As followers of Jesus living in the United States, we can repent of our complicity in climate change in big ways and in small. This can involve personal practices of living with less, consciously consuming less and downscaling when we have too much, and watching our own carbon footprint. It means paying attention and listening to vulnerable communities most directly affected. It can also mean encouraging our churches, school endowments, or investment plans to divest from fossil fuel companies; disrupting the creation of infrastructure for new carbon-intensive products à la 350.org; and advocating for a graduated carbon tax. To paraphrase our President, we need an "all-of-the-above" strategy: we need both personal and societal transformation. Now is a great time and here is a great place to repent and follow Jesus's Way!
In the struggle,
Timothy Murphy
Executive Director
PS: We are proud to report that PCU's co-founder John Cobb has been honored as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Congratulations Dr. Cobb!