The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, has told Manchester Climate Monthly that
there has been significant change in the last five years on climate change, but much much more remains to be done. Crucially, he pointed out that “things we thought might be  good enough five years ago  now look like they’re only scraping at the edges of what we need to do.”  Crucially, he warned against empty declarations of “emergency” , noting that “What actually matters is the action – simply making some declaration without anything underpinning it is not going to get us very far.” [If you live, work or study in Manchester, you can sign the petition calling on Manchester City Council to declare a climate emergency here, and even get involved in the campaign to get the necessary signatures.]

In a wide-ranging interview, the Bishop touched on the ethics of non-violent direct action, the dangers in declaring a climate emergency, solastalgia and the responsibility of the church to those already being affected by climate breakdown.

Part One

00:00 to x mins  On what has happened around climate change since 2014. The amount of progress at a societal level, and then at the level of the Church fo England.

05:00 how does that process of “mainstream change” get accelerated, because we’re still clearly not doing enough.

08:48 Do Christians have a duty to dissent on climate policy, and if so, is non-violent direct action justifiable?

10:50 This question of “solastalgia”

14 minutes – Does Manchester need to declare a climate emergency? And if so, what actions would need to flow from such a declaration?

17mins 45  Air quality as a social justice issue, surely?

20 mins  30 seconds. What do you think the church needs    do to protect the most marginalised members of the Anglican communion (the majority of whom live in countries most impacted by the climate crisis) and do you  the church is doing currently doing a good job at the minute?

Part Two

0 mins – Your Franciscan commitments and his commitment to interfaith dialogue – how that will shape our future climate discussions.

3mins 15 what fills you with wonder and joy when you look at the world around you?

5mins 30 Anything else you’d like to say?