A member of Worcester Cathedral’s Eco Group is running a half marathon to raise awareness about climate injustice this Climate Sunday.
Climate Sunday – Loss and Damage Petition
Paul Grime is running the Worcester Half Marathon to alert people to the Loss and Damage Petition – an online petition for the creation of an international fund to redress the injustice of climate change, i.e. that those who contribute least to causing climate change, suffer the most from it.
The Worcester City Run falls this Sunday, Climate Sunday so Paul, who has volunteered as a speaker with Christian Aid for the last ten years, has chosen to ask people to sign and share the petition rather than giving financial sponsorship.
The petition asks the Prime Minister to set up international funding so that those countries that contribute the least, but suffer the most from climate change, can have some redress.
Paul visited Ethiopia in 2019 as part of his role with Christian Aid and saw first-hand some of the impacts that climate change is having.
“We asked local people what message they would send back to the UK, and they simply said, ‘please stop doing the things that cause climate change.’ It was quite sobering to hear their message.
“We all contribute to climate change, be it through driving petrol cars or using fossil fuels, and we notice it when the river floods, or we have a particularly hot summer. But for the people in Ethiopia, it really is life and death. They’re so vulnerable because they have no buffer. When crops fail and they can’t feed their livestock, their children die. We spoke to people in their thirties who told us how much the climate had changed in their lifetime.
“I hope that by completing the Worcester Half Marathon I can raise awareness and get more people to sign this important petition.”
The Vice-Dean at Worcester Cathedral, Canon Stephen Edwards, added:
“In running the Worcester half marathon for climate justice, Paul is drawing attention to the ways in which our actions directly affect the lives of others across the globe, often in the most vulnerable places.
“Worcester Cathedral declared a climate emergency last year and we are committed to encouraging action and lifestyle changes to make a positive difference in the face of climate change.
“Christian Aid’s campaign highlights our inter-dependence and provides an opportunity to make our voices heard. Run well Paul!”
Paul is no newcomer to marathon running, he ran the London Marathon in 2017 and the Edinburgh Marathon in 2019, in support of Christian Aid and earlier this summer Paul took on the voluntary role of Climate Campaign Organiser with Christian Aid in order to campaign about climate justice.
Worcester Cathedral’s Eco Group has a series of free community events, talks and workshops on caring for our planet which start this month as part of its ‘Living Gently on the Earth’ initiative.
Thanks to National Lottery Funding secured by the Eco Group, the cathedral is hosting these events for the whole community to come together and explore ways to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle through cooking, gardening, money matters, shopping, travel and more.
The events are all free to attend thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund as part of its ‘Together for our Planet’ initiative.
For more information about the Cathedral Eco Group, further details on the ‘Living Gently on the Earth’ events and to book free tickets, please click here.
