The New Normal and the Anglican Foundation's Financing of Climate Action

Things are really changing, right? As we all look forward, the “new” normal will, in all likelihood, be nothing like “normal” at all—many changes which have rained down on us these past months will probably stay with us. Grocery shopping, church services, restaurant meals, haircuts (remember them?), concerts and sports—all may be very different experiences as we move back (forward?) into what we may—albeit wistfully—remember.

I live with a magnificent view of the Hamilton harbour outside the windows of my home—the beautiful bay, downtown Hamilton and, just off to the east, if I crane my neck a little, the heartland of Hamilton—the steel industry. I also live very close to two major arterial roads—lots of traffic! While the wail of sirens has not particularly diminished over these last months, the volume of traffic certainly has. The air quality over downtown is markedly better—bluer skies, a clearer view of the bay, and generally a “cleaner” environment.

There is abundant evidence all around us that a slow down, such as that we are experiencing with COVID, results, among many other things, in a dramatically improved environment. While we all know that the climate crisis is very real and very much the issue on the horizon (pun intended…), it sometimes takes a crisis of pandemic proportions to bring the message home. Irrespective of whatever the “new” normal does indeed look like, we know that we have the means to reduce carbon emissions, to clean up our environment, even though that all could come at a steep price.

How wonderful, then, that the Foundation, in its recent granting cycle, made 20 grants (totaling $50,000) to local projects all concerned with the climate crisis. We in the church community, working with others around us, can make such a difference. We who support the Foundation know only too well what a difference we can make by ensuring that the Foundation can continue to foster and finance such important work.

Bravo!

By Peter Wall. AFC Gift Consultant

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Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada Linda Nicholls on Climate Action in the Era of COVID-19

In an interview on May 12th on the weekly show from the Anglican Diocese of Montreal called Livewithleeann, the Primate of the Anglican Church Linda Nicholls dove into the challenges we face including those posed by Covid-19. Here is a transcript of Primate's response to a question about climate change from Richard Matthews, the chair of the Stewardship of the Environment Committee.

Should we continue to advocate for climate action in the era of COVID-19?

Primate Nicholls: "Absolutely [we should continue to advocate for climate action in the era of COVID-19]. I mean one of the things that has been so amazing and delightful to see is that because of COVID-19, with the shutdown across the world of so much use of fossil fuels we have actually seen the planet healing itself. We've have seen evidence that the planet can in only six weeks or eight weeks of the shutdown begin to reverse some of the effects which I think is worth highlighting and saying to people, OK when we are allowed to go back do we want to? Do we want to go back to the same frenetic pace? Do we want to go back to the same high level use, I mean, people in Ontario know that the 401 highway is the major route from Windsor right through to the other side of the province and most of the time it is just chock a block especially between Windsor the the eastern side of Toronto, and people have said my goodness its empty and to see, to be able to get around when there is less traffic to not be using as much of the fossil fuels and to see the effect on the environment with cleaner air people with asthma declaring that they can breathe easier in cities that have been devastated by pollution. I lived for some time in India. I know that for 30 years people in Delhi had not seen the sun. They can now see it and they can now see the mountains which had been hidden from view by the pall of pollution and smoke and gasoline fumes and diesel fumes. So I hope we will take the time to ask ourselves is there work that can and should still be done from home or from a place that doesn't require the same degree of travel? Its a question I am going to have to ask myself. I still live in London Ontario but the office for the national church is in Toronto. So I have worked from home some of the time will I do that more that's going to be a question that needs to be asked for those very reasons. So I think there is a reason alongside of COVID-19 to advocate for climate change among other issues that have been revealed by COVID-19. One of the things that a crisis like this does is it rips off the lid of all sorts of other issues around justice and care for the most vulnerable in our midst that we have put off to the side and so I think this is a moment that will change us."

To watch the full interview click here.

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