Baptist climate campaigners lobby MP at iconic St Mary's Island 

Baptist campaigners support national ‘Week of Action’ on climate change by meeting with Alan Campbell MP at the iconic St Mary’s Island on the North East coast

Taking as their theme, “For the love of people living by the coast”, about 30 supporters of North East Call to Action (NE-CAP), most of them from Baptist churches in Whitley Bay, drew attention to the threat of sea level rise to people living in low-lying regions.

Speaking on behalf of NE-CAP, a member of the national Climate Coalition, Dr David Golding CBE, quoted the words of an anguished Veena Khaleque, Director of the aid agency, Practical Action, in Bangladesh. 'I find it almost impossible to imagine how the poor of Bangladesh will cope', she said, contemplating the prospect of sea level rise due to global warming. 

Ten million people live below the one metre mark in Bangladesh alone. There are also the low lying, ‘Island States’, which are in danger of being completely submerged.

David thanked Mr Campbell for his exemplary support in the past on matters of global justice and sustainability and asked him to write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to:

* Congratulate him for rapid progress on ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement, and to:
* Ask him to publish an ambitious low-carbon investment plan to transform the economy in line with the Climate Change Act.

But he had a word of warning for all our political leaders, stating that: 'We’ve had the promises – now we need the policies!', and 'We’ve had the words – now we need the actions!'

Mr Campbell responded by warmly thanking all those present for making the effort to turn out on such an unpleasant afternoon and assuring them of his support and commitment. He pointed out that, 'David has, if anything, understated the threat of sea level rise, since about 150 million people world-wide live at or below the one metre level, and they also face the prospect of more extreme climate events, including damaging storm surges, etc.'