–– Mark Christopher

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

One of the constants in the news is climate change. I began studying and following the issue 20 years ago when it was called “Global Warming.” When the earth wasn’t heating up fast enough, the name was suddenly changed to the more general and easily exploitable “Climate Change.” 

The South African government recently applauded the 29^th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29) for committing 300 billion US dollars annually by 2035 to developing economies. This agreement also allows development banks to provide 1.3 trillion dollars annually in loans for climate financing. With this much money available, it is easy to see why the SA government applauds COP29. 

In another article entitled “Red Tape and climate change stifle indigenous farming in South Africa,” climate change is invoked as a reason indigenous farmers are struggling. While government bureaucracy no doubt hinders indigenous farmers, as it does every other industry in SA, the claim of climate change is added to the mix without any statistical data to legitimize the claim. It is believed that climate change is causing more frequent and severe extreme weather-related events. Yet, according to the linked articles, this is simply not true (here, here, here, here, here, & here). 

So, what do all the mainline articles about climate change have in common? The underlying belief that climate change is an existential threat that has ushered in a climate emergency requiring we act now. In this equation, acting now is equated with vast sums of money and an avalanche of government regulation meant to result in ecotopia. My question is this, if the situation is as dire as claimed, why isn’t the SA government taking action now? One of the areas that could be addressed now is a mass transit system that doesn’t require untold thousands of CO2-emitting mini-bus taxis to carry people. Further, why not move freight by rail instead of by semi-tractor trailer, thus removing large trucks from the national highways? Then there is the matter of children being individually driven to and from school in CO2-spewing cars and taxis. Why not mandate more people work and learn from home?

My point is not to advocate all the above but to make the point that not even the SA government, or other governments for that matter, really believe that climate change is an existential threat; otherwise, they wouldn’t be waiting for cash giveaways that only hit stride in 2035. 

The question for Christians is, what are we to think of all the climate-change headlines and doom and gloom they perpetuate? While the Bible does not directly address climate change, an ethic for creation care is discerned. Here are just a few thoughts rooted in general biblical principles: 

Biblical Principles

1. Don’t be anxious about climate change. Paul said, “Do not be anxious for anything” (Phil. 4:6). This has a widespread application that extends to climate change. Because I began informing myself about the subject 20 years ago, I know that the earth has warmed modestly (1.2 Celsius) over the last 160 years since emerging from the Little Ice Age. How much of that recent warming is attributable to man-made causes, and how much is due to natural variation? No one really knows. Many climatologists believe it was warmer during the Medieval Warming Period than it is now, and the world did not come to an end. On the contrary, human longevity was extended, growing seasons increased, there was significant innovation, and it was a period of global exploration.

2. Exercise wisdom by asking a lot of questions. One of the many lessons from the book of Proverbs is that the wise man is one who critically thinks and doesn’t just accept everything he or she is told. Critical thinking includes asking a lot of questions. As it relates to the area of climate change, here are just a couple of the questions I ask: 

• If the earth is overheating, then what is the optimal temperature of the earth, and has the earth ever operated at optimal temperatures? 
• Is atmospheric CO2 the only driver of temperature, or are there other factors like solar variation, sunspots, gravity, cosmic wind, ocean currents (El Nino and La Nina), humidity, clouds, topography, and a host of other complex variables never mentioned? 
• Since it is claimed that current atmospheric concentrations are too high (411 parts per million), what is the right amount of CO2? 
• If CO2 is a pollutant, why do greenhouses exist? Greenhouses operate at CO2 concentrations of 800 parts per million, or twice the amount naturally found in the atmosphere, because CO2 is plant food! 
• How is the climate more dangerous now than it was in the 17^th-19^th centuries when the Little Ice Age wreaked weather havoc?  

3. Human life is unique and distinct from non-human creation (Genesis 1:26-28 and 2:15). As image bearers of God, humanity is meant to exercise wise and prudent dominion over the rest of creation. Yet, many of the governmental policies surrounding climate change elevate non-human creation over God’s image bearers. There must be a proper balance between using and preserving creation. In man’s fallen state, this is easier said than done, but God-glorifying stewardship of non-human creation is a responsibility that Christians should take seriously. 

4. According to many psalms (Psalms 8; 24:1; 19:1-6; 33:6; Psalm 104), creation primarily exists to give God glory. This should serve as a catalyst for Christians to strive to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. Because creation gives glory to God, stewardship becomes an act of worship. Therefore, we should use earthly resources wisely and with moderation. We should clean up our messes and seek to preserve nature without becoming a slave to it. As with most things in life, there is a precarious balance to be achieved without gravitating toward the polar extremes. 

5. It must also be remembered God has promised to preserve that which He created (Genesis 8:22-23; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). Though non-human creation is now cursed because of the fall, God still preserves and sovereignly sustains His creation, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). This is not an excuse for human inactivity or wanton neglect, but a promise that the earth will never be completely destroyed until God ushers in the new heavens and new earth.

Conclusion

These are but a few thoughts that only begin to frame the whole subject of climate change in a biblical worldview context. While there are limits on what we can do to bring a little balance and sanity to the discussion, we can pray, inform ourselves, and learn what it means to be a wise steward of what has been entrusted to us as unique image-bearers of God. In so doing, we give glory to God while serving as a testimony to the unsaved world around us!