GC41 Noah or Belshazzar—The United Church of Canada and Global Warming: Dare We Risk a Challenge Deferred (GC41 2012 - 090)

That the 41st General Council 2012: 

1. strongly reaffirm Resolution M&O 1, “The United Church of Canada and Global Warming – The Unavoidable Challenge”, adopted at the 40th General Council, Kelowna, 2009; 

2. note with dismay that the scientific evidence of global warming and its impact on the earth, the oceans, and all inhabitants of creation is even more unequivocal than in 2009, and that the need to act is more urgent and growing; 

3. deplore the failure of government , in Canada and elsewhere, to tackle global warming and its immediate and long term effects on the world, especially the poor and most vulnerable, with the requisite commitment, resources, vigour, and imagination; 

4. underline the immediate requirement to put an economic price on carbon, and to implement effective measures now so as to reduce the anthropogenic impact on Earth, with a view to keeping net global planetary warming at or below 2°C above the mid 18th century level; 

5. express appreciation to the Moderator, staff and others in the Church who have set out a vision and worked alone and in partnership on behalf of Creation, within Canada and internationally; 

6. call the Church as institution, its leaders, the General Council Executive, and the Church’s Courts, bodies and congregants, to assume their respective responsibilities to take more urgent and intentional action on the lines set out in M&O 1, and such other steps as would bring about a paradigm shift within the Church and within Canada, as an integral part of the work of responding over the medium and long term to the Report on the State of the Church; 

7. regret the absence of a timely Progress Report with Recommendations, as requested in M&O 1, which would help GC41 to assess the Church’s response, and to develop specific recommendations for further work as needed; 

8. direct these to the Executive of the General Council for implementation or study; 

9. request the Executive of General Council, , to develop an updated program of action on global warming and the crisis of creation, including the oceans, to be Carried out by the Church during the triennium 2012-2015, and which would among other things, draw upon the elements in the Appendix to M&O 1, including those in paragraph 9; and 

10. request the Moderator, the General Secretary and the Executive of the General Council to   provide by March 1, 2015 a detailed United Church progress report to the 42nd General Council  2015, and the whole United Church, with further recommendations as needed. 

11. Directs the General Secretary to develop, as a priority, an updated program of action for the church on Global warming and the crisis of creation, and to prepare a report on the church’s progress, including recommendations for further work for presentation to the 42nd General Council. 

GC41 2012 ROP, pp. 220-221, 330-331