Displaying items by tag: Global

The global oil and gas industry faces a critical juncture at the upcoming UN climate talks (COP28), according to Dr Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA). She emphasised that the sector must make a pivotal choice between exacerbating the climate crisis or actively contributing to its resolution. Last year, fossil fuel companies allocated a mere 1% of global investment to renewable energy. At COP28, the IEA intends to exert pressure on participating governments to agree on measures for reducing fossil fuel usage. Dr Birol stressed that a successful transition to clean energy necessitates reduced demand for oil and gas, requiring the scaling back of fossil fuel operations. Meeting climate goals involves embracing carbon capture technology while simultaneously reducing emissions, but currently carbon capture capacity worldwide is insufficient to meet these objectives. The fossil fuel industry, although a major investor in carbon capture and storage, is being strongly criticised for its inadequate investment in renewable energy.

An annual report by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) says that democracy declined around the world for the sixth consecutive year in 2022 as half the world’s countries slid backwards on indicators such as freedom of expression and political participation. IDEA secretary-general Kevin Casas-Zamora stated that ‘democracy is still in trouble, stagnant at best, and declining in many places’. The six-year fall is the longest period of democratic backsliding since records began in 1975. Casas-Zamora attributed the decline to the global weakening of democratic institutions that otherwise help safeguard human rights and the rule of law. Both the United Kingdom and the United States were named as ‘backsliding’, as were Guatemala and El Salvador, which both saw widespread political turmoil and human rights violations in 2022. In eastern Europe and Asia, countries such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey scored poorly: in Africa the decline was exemplified by a wave of coups d’etat.

You are invited to join the Wave of Glory from 28 August to 17 September 2023, 21 days praying for a wave of the knowledge of the Glory of God to engulf the globe. The Lord loves it when we pray, fast and turn to Him. Our mission is to pray for a global awakening - that billions would find Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Please also pray for a powerful and effective time as the World Prayer Assembly gathers from 3 to 6 October in Perth, and for the Wave of Glory to sweep across Oceania and Australia with salvation and deliverance across the region and across the Earth. Pray for an awakening for your nation, and for millions to find Christ. Pray for the wave of prayer to usher in billions of people, and it to grow daily. Pray for all who become followers of Jesus. See also

International Justice Mission (IJM) supported 14-year-old Hana to testify against a serving army officer who sexually assaulted her. Braving a military courtroom and facing the intimidation of officers dressed in army green uniform, Hana won her case. He was jailed for 14 years. Pray that this sentence sends a strong message to the community that abusing children is a crime. Pray for Hana’s healing. Bolivia’s Global Survivor Network uses shadow theatre, songs and presentations to raise awareness about violence against women and children and the problem of victim-blaming. Pray that God can work in the hearts of the people who attended the events so that this crime decreases in Bolivia. In Guatemala, IJM trained 43 judges on trauma-informed and victim-centred approaches that ensure survivors are treated with compassion and dignity. Pray that as justice system providers learn how to interact with and serve victims better, investigations and prosecutions will be more efficient.

The southern United States is in its third week of an extreme, stubborn heat wave that refuses to budge. 100 million Americans remain under heat alerts from South Florida to northern Nevada as record breaking temperatures hit 128°F (53° C) in Death Valley. Above-normal temperatures and sauna-like humidity have made things intolerable, with triple-digit temperatures continuing for days.  Sardinia has approached 117° (47° C), and Rome 108° (42° C) - which would eclipse the all-time record by 3°. Iran’s international airport posted a suffocating heat of 152° (67° C). Pray for the people who have problems regulating their body temperature, such as the elderly, pregnant, babies, children, and those with chronic or mental health conditions. Pray for those without air-conditioning to recognise symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion and go to a place which is air-conditioned. The heat is also worsening wildfires. Pray for the safety of firefighters, and the protection of homes and businesses.

Every year countries pledge to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to curb the impacts of climate change. But still temperatures keep rising. Last month scientists announced that the average rise in global temperatures would likely pass the 1.5C threshold in the next five years. With temperatures rising we will see more heatwaves, wildfires and floods. From 5 to 15 June countries’ leaders are meeting at the Bonn climate conference to discuss, among other things, local communities and indigenous peoples, pre-2020 ambition and implementation, science, and oceans. They will review their pledges as they look ahead to November’s COP28. Even a small increase in average temperatures makes a big difference as the whole distribution of daily temperatures shifts to warmer levels, making hotter days more likely and more extreme. See

Dr Jason Hubbard, the director of International Prayer Connect, invites us to Pentecost 2023 - a Global Day of Prayer for Jerusalem and the nations. On 27 and 28 May, a coalition of believers in Israel and elsewhere, along with mission and prayer organisations, is calling Christians everywhere to set aside an hour to pray for Jerusalem and the Jewish people. Different groups from Israel and the nations will lead a 26-hour broadcast, with different key partners leading prayer from their part of the world. This will see several high points, including a broadcast from the southern steps of the Temple in Jerusalem. You are invited to join over 110 million other believers around the world exalting Jesus, proclaiming His name over Jerusalem and the nations, praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the gospel to reach the ends of the earth. For info about joining the event, go to  See also

Next week Tearfund staff and campaigners from communities most affected by plastic pollution will be in Paris for the second round of negotiations on a UN global plastics treaty. The talks - known as INC-2 (Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee) - will run from 29 May to 2 June and mark a significant moment in a rubbish campaign. Tearfund is asking Christians to pray for the negotiations. Recent research showed that across the world 218 million people (equivalent to the populations of the UK, France and Germany combined) are at risk of flooding made worse by plastic pollution. At the talks, Tearfund will be calling for an ambitious and binding treaty that fully addresses plastic pollution and the impact it has on people living in poverty. It believes every person God created has value and should have the opportunity to live a full life, free of rubbish

500+ churches across Texas have left the United Methodist denomination, feeling it necessary for moving forward after it adopted an LGBTQ-friendly ideology, shown for example by the election of a second openly gay bishop in November 2022. A Houston pastor said, ‘I believe what scripture clearly teaches that human sexuality is a gift from God, reserved for a man and a woman in a monogamous marriage. That belief is not being upheld.’ Over 1,800 US churches have left since 2019 and joined the new theologically conservative Global Methodist denomination launched in 2022. Methodist churches in Bulgaria and Slovakia have also voted to do so. They have begun operations of an annual conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Philippines. Also the United Methodists permit other beliefs about Jesus, allowing pastors to proclaim that Jesus might not be the only way of salvation.

Violence against Christian women and girls continues to rise everywhere. Christian women are abducted and used as sex slaves. The 'honour' culture is used to shame and stigmatise victims of sexual or physical abuse, so victims are silent. Men attack with impunity because victims keep quiet for fear of dishonour to their family or community, so wrongdoing often goes punished. This, in turn, makes women and girls increasingly vulnerable to psychological violence. Rape victims are often viewed as sexually impure, making them vulnerable to rejection and limiting their future prospects. In many cultures, women do not hold the same value as men. This undergirds much of the persecution faced by our sisters. And in many cases, being a Christian means they are regarded as having even less worth. Open Doors’ vision is that every woman who is persecuted for her faith and gender is seen, valued, and empowered to reach her God-given potential.