The Lorax & the COP24 Rule Book

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.

 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

 And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.

 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.

 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

                            Isaiah 12:2-6

Early this morning one of our grandlads asked me to read him The Lorax, the classic Dr. Seuss story of the madness of unchecked consumerism and environmental destruction, as well as a plea to act on behalf of Creation. It's a book I've used with adults but its been a while since I read it aloud.

How appropriate that this was his choice given the announcement that after extending the international climate change conference called COP24 for a tense day more than 200 countries have signed on --barely -- to an implementation agreement for 2015 Paris Accord guidelines. This "rule book" as its being called is not binding, so God only knows where this will go, but we can hope that it is better than nothing. Countries did agree on most of the tricky elements of the rulebook including how governments will measure, report on and verify their emissions-cutting efforts. This will ensure that all countries are held to proper standards and will find it harder to renege on their commitments.

One of the readings for this Joy Sunday in Advent speaks of drawing water from the wells of salvation and praise throughout the Earth. We can pray that our sadness will be turned to joy for the planet as a result of what leaders decided today.