Rev Sally Foster Fulton, convenor of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council has written to Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change urging him to take a lead in the forthcoming climate change talks in Lima.

I am writing to express our continuing concern about the impact of climate change on the world and its peoples, particularly those living in poverty. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at its meeting in May 2014 noted with grave concern the Fifth Assessment report on the science of climate change published by the IPCC and called upon the government to take decisive action to reduce carbon emissions swiftly. Our concerns have been redoubled by the recent publication of the Synthesis Report Climate Change 2014 by the IPCC and its conclusion that

‘Without additional mitigation efforts beyond those in place today, and even with adaptation, warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to high to very high risk of severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally .’

The Lima Conference later this year offers an opportunity to take stock of these findings and to press for stronger global action. We urge you to do this and ask you to let us know what steps HM Government will take to bring about a satisfactory outcome at Lima. The Church of Scotland is responding to climate change in partnership with Eco-Congregation Scotland, a movement of over 300 congregations across Scotland and beyond committed to taking action on climate change. We are also part of the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition and the growing global movement of churches concerned to see action on climate change represented by the World Council of Churches. We ask you to share the passion and commitment of churches around the world and take a leading role to help bring about real and lasting reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.