Prior to joining A Rocha, Chris had wide experience of science teaching and schools’ management in the UK and the Middle East, attending Bible College and learning Arabic (in Jordan) along the way. He joined A Rocha in 1997 working, until 2009, as Lebanon Director where he cofounded the work. He oversaw the habitat restoration programme at the Aammiq Wetland, the development of the environmental education project and the field research programme, identifying 11 new Important Bird Areas. Since April 2010 he has been Executive Director of A Rocha International and is based in Oxfordshire. His book Postcards from the Middle East: How our family fell in love with the Arab world was published by Lion Hudson in March 2015.
Devastation of communities and habitats was not all that hurricane Irma left in its wake – an intense public debate immediately started about whether or not we should talk about climate change at times like these.
It was extraordinary to be in Paris during the COP negotiations. So, now the dust has settled, the marquees are dismantled, and the circus has left town, what are we to make of the COP21 Agreement, and where do we go from here?
Two very different angles on one very huge problem. At COP21, the pressure’s on us. We have to save ourselves. We are the heroes and the villains, the culprits and the solution. Imagine what our world leaders must feel, with the weight of the globe on their shoulders. Can they hold the oceans back?
Climate change seems to polarize Christians. Why? Why do some believe it is a satanic plot whilst others see it as a crucial moral issue? Why do so many more simply ignore it as irrelevant to their faith and daily lives? In the end it’s about theology.
