Christian Group Welcomes New Climate Change Report

By Ethan Cole, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 02, 2007

A Christian group welcomed a new report by top international scientists that blamed humans for global warming and other climate problems.

The report by the U.N. Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released on Friday saying that humans were “very likely” the cause for global warming – the strongest conclusion to date on the controversial topic. The panel also informed that global warming will continue for centuries regardless of how much people control pollution.

According to the 21-page report, humans are to blame for fewer cold days, heat waves, floods and stronger storms.

The World Council of Churches program on climate change and water welcomed the report and called on its constituents who are active in combating climate change to use the information published in the IPCC report.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Robra, WCC program executive for Justice Peace & Creation, said the debate on whether global warming is caused by human activities or not must now shift from denial and delays to responsibility and remedies.

However, it is unclear if the report will be able to unite the evangelical community on global warming.

Evangelicals, although agreeing that humans are responsible for the care of God’s creation, are split over whether global warming is mainly caused by humans or if it is caused by natural factors and changes in the Earth.

Last month, a coalition of leading scientists and evangelicals announced their partnership to bring together the scientific and Christian communities to advocate for “fundamental changes” in private and public use of energy among other human-controlled factors that contribute to global warming.

The coalition was opposed by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (ISA), a group founded by evangelicals, who said the scientist-evangelical coalition did not speak for all evangelicals. ISA argued that global warming is caused by natural changes such as alterations in the Earth’s orbit and solar energy and solar wind output.

Friday’s IPCC report is the fourth major one of its kind in the past 20 years released by the U.N. climate panel.

WCC was founded in 1948 as an ecumenical body promoting Christian unity, witness and service. It now consists of 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries.