Huron Expositor, 2015-12-16, Page 5Wednesday, December 16, 2015 • Huron Expositor 5
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Canada stands for vulnerable at climate talks
Craig and Marc Kielburger
Column
Ali Noor Gedi was so
malnourished, the
three-year-old was scarcely
bigger than the average
Canadian infant. Ali's
mother let Craig stroke his
cheek gently while nurses
tried unsuccessfully to find
a vein big enough to insert
an IV in his twig -thin arm.
When Craig visited
Dadaab, Kenya, four years
ago and met Ali, he wit-
nessed hundreds of fami-
lies lined along the road to
the world's largest refugee
camp. Most weren't fleeing
violence, they were fleeing
the weather.
As climate change
advances, disasters like the
drought that ravaged East
Africa in 2011 are
becoming more frequent
and severe. A newly -
released report from the
World Bank says 100 mil-
lion more people could be
thrown into poverty in the
next 15 years as a direct
consequence of increas-
ingly erratic climate
patterns.
Since the United Nations
Climate Change Confer-
ence began in Paris on
Nov. 30, the government of
Canada has announced
$2.65 billion over five years
to help developing coun-
tries adapt, and that our
country will support a
lower 1.5 Celsius degree
limit on global warming.
It's thrilling that Canada
appears to be changing
sides in one of the oldest
dynamics of international
environmental politics: the
gaping chasm between rich
and poor countries.
"The old entrenched
north -south politics is very
damaging," says Steven
Bernstein, a professor of
political science at the Uni-
versity of Toronto who has
followed global climate
talks since he attended the
first meeting in 1995.
The world consensus has
been that, to prevent the
worst effects of climate
change, global temperature
increases must not exceed
two degrees above the pre-
industrial age (roughly
before 1850) average tem-
perature. But for small
island nations like Tuvalu
in the South Pacific, even a
two -degree change could
see their homes disappear
under a rising sea within
the next few decades. These
countries want a lower goal
of 1.5 degrees. That would
mean even steeper emis-
sions cuts for rich indus-
trial countries, which is
why Canada's newfound
support for the idea is so
incredible.
Another key wish among
vulnerable nations is a
legally binding agreement
on loss and damages --
essentially a global insur-
ance plan for countries
hurt by climate change. The
developing world wants a
solid commitment to com-
pensate for the harm their
people will inevitably face
when crops whither and
livestock die. As we write
this, Canada has yet to take
a position on loss and dam-
ages, but our government's
actions thus far give us
cause for optimism.
It's not enough to simply
pay for damages. We must
help developing countries
adapt to climate change,
and build sustainable
economies.
Countries like Bangla-
desh and Tanzania have
contributed little to the
problem of global warming.
But if they are to avoid
becoming greenhouse gas
emitters, they must bypass
establishing carbon -inten-
sive industries, jumping
directly to 21st -century
green technologies. That
will take massive funding
from rich nations. Overall,
the world has committed
$100 billion to adaptation,
although Bernstein agrees
that is vastly inadequate.
Nevertheless, Bernstein
says Canada is making a
"significant" investment in
helping developing coun-
tries adapt to climate
change.
As we write, the Paris
conference is still under-
way. So far, Canada has
shown tremendous leader-
ship. We hope by the end
on Friday, our country will
have gone even further, and
other developed countries
will have followed our
example, setting aside our
own economic self-interest
for the sake of those who
will suffer from a problem
we largely created.
It's the actions of the First
World that will determine
whether families like Ali's
will starve when unprece-
dented storms destroy
crops and livelihoods.
Craig and Marc Kiel -
burger founded a platform
for social change that
includes Free The Children,
Me to We, and the youth
empowerment movement,
We Day. Visit we.org for
more information.
Greenwood: What if Egypt had turned away Joseph, Mary?
Jamie Greenwood
Column
More than 2,000
years ago, a man
with his wife and two-year-
old son fled, as refugees, to
Egypt because of a king who
wanted to kill the boy.
This king, named Herod,
ordered the murder of all
boys in a town called Bethle-
hem in an attempt to get rid
of this one boy.
But a petition was signed
by thousands upon thou-
sands of people in Egypt
against the refugees and this
young couple was never
permitted to enter Egypt.
As they approached the
border, the Egyptian Border
Authority took one look at
their passports and denied
them entry on the grounds
that they were already being
wanted in the town of
Bethlehem.
The father, whose name
was Joseph, claimed they
were people in need of pro-
tection. He pleaded with the
officer and told him their
son would be killed by the
King of Judea, but the bor-
der officer apologized and
informed Joseph that,
because the people of Egypt
had signed a petition to not
allow any more refugees,
that his family would not be
allowed to enter Egypt.
It is a sad tale because this
little boy was meant to do
great things. Some wise men
had foretold he would even-
tually become king of the
Jews. Many speculated he
would be the one to over-
throw the Roman Empire.
But when the Egyptian
officer returned this family
to King Herod, the little boy
was murdered.
Now, we know this tale is
not true and Mary and
Joseph did successful make
it to Egypt with Jesus as refu-
gees. And because they were
able to do this, Jesus would
become a prominent person
in world history.
The Jews believe Jesus was
Mary's son and a teacher
who had many disciples,
was respected, performed
miracles, claimed to be the
Messiah and was crucified
on the cross. They also
acknowledge his followers
reported Jesus was raised
from the dead.
Muslims believe Jesus was
born of a virgin, is to be
revered and respected, was
a prophet, a wise teacher
who worked miracles,
ascended to heaven, and
will come again.
Christians claim every-
thing that the Jews and the
Muslims believe but take the
person of Jesus one step
further. Christians say Jesus
is the Messiah and there is
only one way to heaven and
that is through Jesus Christ.
Therefore a person must
believe that what Jesus said
was true in order to make it
to heaven.
Other faiths, such as
Baha i, Hindu, Buddhism,
and the New Age move-
ment, believe Jesus was, at
the very least, a real person
and a wise moral teacher.
Josephus, a first -century his-
torian, included references
to Jesus and the origins of
Christianity. Therefore, at
the very least, we must
acknowledge how Jesus, a
refugee to Egypt, has
changed the world.
Today, more than 44,000
Canadians have signed a
petition to try to stop our
prime minister from bring-
ing in 25,000 Syrian refugees
into Canada. At the same
time pictures and messages
have been posted on social
media outlets claiming ISIS
gunmen are being smuggled
into our country among ref-
ugees. We have started this
week by bringing in small
groups of Syrian refugees
from Lebanon.
On one side, we know it
only took a handful of peo-
ple to turn Paris upside
down, but on the other, we
also need to realize innocent
people are struggling to sur-
vive inside and near Syria.
Many have been killed and
others are forced to flee their
homes — much like what
was happening shortly after
the birth of Jesus.
I have to believe the prime
minister's delay in bringing
refugees to Canada means
our government is being
cautious and doing every-
thing possible to make sure
Canadians stay safe.
And I believe it is possible
a Syrian refugee could also
affect and change the world
in a positive way, just like
Jesus.
So even though I may not
be directly affected by a Syr-
ian refugee in the near
future, as a Christian, if
given the opportunity, I
would be ready to buy toys,
clothing or become friends
with a refugee or a refugee
family by helping them inte-
grate into their community.
It is how Jesus survived
and it is how many of our
ancestors survived when
they came to this great
country. I believe we should
continue this tradition.
And so may we this
Christmas be ready to help a
refugee with the opportunity
arises.
Pastor Jamie Greenwood
is lead pastor of Faith Pente-
costal Assembly in Glencoe.
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