Following the election of Donald Trump in the USA last November, some may think that the issue of Climate Change is now dead and buried. This could not be further from the truth, with many leading scientists still warning that CO2 levels remain dangerously high and steadily climbing. There is no doubt, in thinking minds, that Climate Change is well and truly upon us and that the time to act is NOW! We can no longer afford to "wait" until we take action. The time for delay is well and truly over.
We all write about issues from our own particular world view point. It is nearly impossible not to do so and the subject of Climate Change is no different. I should, therefore, summarise my background and the setting that frames these book chapters to follow on my blog.
As a teenager in the 1980s, I had a very religious upbringing in The Worldwide Church of God, which proved instructive in many ways. As a consequence, a belief in God and The Holy Bible influenced my secondary school studies. I worked hard, and except for Chemistry and Art, gained A grades in all high-school subjects and, subsequently, in A-level German, Economics, and Mathematics although Further Mathematics was a disappointing grade C.
By the end of the decade, following the death of its Pastor General, Herbert W Armstrong, The Church was troubled with new leadership and more mainstream Christian teachings. Coincident with this, I began to question statements made by Church Ministers on matters of economics that were at odds with school teaching. The Church Ministers claimed that personal and public debt were out of control while I also believed my economics teacher's claims that controlled debt for the economy was good.
By the time I went up to Cambridge University, I had stopped attending Church as too had my family and The Church splintered at about the same time. At university, I read Economics and Management Studies and gained a First. I then pursued a career in accountancy, and private equity (in German real estate), took a career break to do an MBA at INSEAD France and Wharton USA, and then started my career again in venture capital (in low carbon businesses) and environmental consultancy. Subsequently, my business acumen, developed over 30 years, labels me as a capitalist in thinking as I believe strongly that this is the best way to create and sustain wealth in society through developing family-owned businesses which are nurtured over many years. I focused on this - strategy for low carbon businesses - whilst at INSEAD and since then, I have continued to both work on related fields and research Climate Change.
In recent years, I have turned again to Christianity.
Why is this relevant to this text? Well, since 2006, when I was studying for my MBA and, thanks to my brother, first became aware of Climate Change, I have researched the subject in depth. This coincided with the release of Al Gore's book and film An Inconvenient Truth, which collectively provided an objective global reality check. In the subsequent decade, I have experienced many emotional twists and turns, which have ranged from outright concern to thinking that the subject is too big to comprehend. I now accept that Climate Change is real and take as read the views of many eminent scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports but I do not believe in it!
I instead believe wholeheartedly that God controls the weather. The Bible is unequivocal about this subject. I will relay a short story to prove the point.
In Summer 2019 when I was putting the finishing touches to the first draft of this book and thinking that Climate Change was a scientific fact, God spoke to me as I was sitting in my study writing on my Apple computer. He asked me if I loved him, and I replied: "YES!". Then He asked me if I feared Him. I said, truthfully not. The answer came back loud and clear. I was to make a trip into town (Stockton) by bus and I would simultaneously know that He controlled the weather and I would know to fear His POWER!
So, being shaken by this, I readied myself and left my house. Unbeknown to me as I left a storm was gathering. And then, as I passed Wolviston Roundabout on the way to get the Number 36 bus, a bolt of lightning struck the ground just 20 minutes from where I was standing! I was suitably shocked and chastened. I knew He would protect me, but it was definitely a wake-up call.
Climate Change is not a religion - it is a scientific fact. But more importantly, we should realize, as Christians, that God ultimately controls the weather. I reconcile this in my own mind to mean that God is allowing Climate Change; the product of man facilitating carbon dioxide emissions since the onset of the Industrial Revolution for which we are now paying a hefty price. As The Bible states, God will punish mankind for its sins unless we, collectively, repent in time!
The challenge is how to solve this inimical problem. Man must now apply his God-given talents and intervene to solve the self-created problem that is Climate Change. We are stewards of this Earth. The answer must lie in economics and business aspiring towards environmentally-friendly ways of working, as well as protecting and nurturing the natural environment around us. This is the capitalist in me speaking, and market forces work best when there is healthy competition with light regulation (although, as I will later argue, given the timescale for change is so short, heavier regulation than usual may be needed).
But we must also be good Christians and turn to God in our droves.
Since Climate Change is a global imperative, an international response is required. In the analysis I use in subsequent chapters of this book (to follow), an equation is used to examine the developed West versus the Rest of The World (ROW) before applying this global perspective specifically to the UK and the USA. The same analysis could be made for other countries.
We, the broader public, have been thinking about Climate Change for nearly 2 decades now, since the publication of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, although politicians and scientists have been concerned for much longer. There is much talk of promulgating a Plan by 2050 but that is a generation away! On an issue as important as this, we cannot simply keep extending the deadline or, according to scientists, we face almost extinction as a species. The time for action is NOW, and bold action is required.
This book does not claim to hold all of the answers as to what action is required and by whom. Instead, it is a framework around which we can all play a part in solving collectively this problem. This can, and should, go hand-in-hand with the belief in the imminent Return of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
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