good morning and welcome to the deanery garden at canterbury cathedral on this morning of wednesday the 3rd of november we are sitting under the most wonderful blue sky with no wind whatsoever but it's a time when frosts and cold are helping the leaves to fall from the trees and yet the sun rises in even more splendor than usual on these frosty mornings in november and we give thanks for all the beauty around us and also give thanks for the sense of falling leaves and the way in which the earth will revitalize itself through the months of rest and winter and on into the spring i know that some of you who will be um with us this morning in the garden congregation and be welcome wherever you are in the world will already in the southern hemisphere be welcoming that sense of spring as we are thinking here of the autumn and then the winter ahead we've just stepped out of all hallows tied with the end of all sales day yesterday and we're stepping in now to a time of thinking about the the saints but also here a scene of remembrance we will go from remembering the and commemorating those we we have loved you've gone on into a greater light before us in all sales day yesterday into the anticipation of the remembrance of all those who've died in conflict as we approach armistice day and remembrance sunday that's the sunday after next so these days have uh a kind of flavor of reflection in that way but of course our main attention remains with the focus on cop 26 and all those leaders representing the 190 nations gathered in glasgow with all those helping them to negotiate to advise to come to conclusions on so many different issues but today the issue is finance and i'm sitting here on the site under the pepper pot tower of the monastic exchequer in the days when this was a huge benedictine monastery with many lands and much business to effect and resources to plan here was the exchequer when things had to be balanced between the way in which the community around the monastery was helped and the life of the monastery furthered and the core core activity of the holy place in offering prayer and worship continued many of those themes are still with us today but i've chosen to sit here because our attention this morning with cop 26 will be on finance and the chancellor of the exchequer of this nation rishi sunak will be addressing the conference we'll think about that in our reflection but meanwhile we return to our story of the exodus having paused while all hallows tied took those three days so we're going back now to the exodus but let's begin our morning prayers together on this lovely morning an awesome morning oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise your faithful servants bless you they make known the glory of your kingdom blessed are you sovereign god ruler and judge of all to you be praise and glory forever in the darkness of this age that is passing away may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy surround our steps as we journey on may we reflect your glory this day and so be made ready to see your face in the heavenly city where night shall be no more blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind and as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen in our calendar our church calendar here in the church of england today we keep very much the memory of richard hooker who gave balance and an ecclesiastical theology a theology of the life of the church and all that it expressed in its what we now have the anglican communion uh expression of faithfulness to christ richard hooker whose laws of ecclesiastical policy became that foundation stone was actually a parish priest here not far from here in the beautiful bourne valley in the parish of born where he's he is buried he's he's actually he died on this day in 1600 so we remember him and the sense of balance and equilibrium is something that will be very much with us today and through the uh reflections on the cop 26 conference restoring climatic balance and stability to this planet so we come to our psalm which this morning on this morning of the month the third morning of the month is psalm 16. preserve me o god for in you have i taken refuge i have said to the lord you are my lord all my good depends on you all my delight is upon the godly that are in the land upon those who are noble in heart though the idols are legion that many run after their drink offerings of blood i will not offer neither make mention of their names upon my lips the lord himself is my portion and my cup in your hands alone is my fortune my share has fallen in a fair land indeed i have a goodly heritage i will bless the lord who has given me counsel and in the night watches he instructs my heart i have set the lord always before me he is at my right hand i shall not fall wherefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices my flesh also shall rest secure for you will not abandon my soul to death nor suffer your faithful one to see the pit you will show me the path of life in your presence is the fullness of joy and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore as i said we're returning to the book of exodus from where we left off before all hallows tied took over for three days and i'm starting in chapter 13 of exodus and verse 17. i'm just reading those verses to the end of the chapter quite a short reading when pharaoh let the people go god did not lead them by way of the land of the philistines although that was near for god said lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to egypt but god led the people round by the way of the wilderness towards the red sea and the people of israel went up out of the land of egypt equipped for battle moses took the bones of joseph with him for joseph had made the sons of israel solemnly swear saying god will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones with you from here and they moved on from sacos and encamped at ethan on the edge of the wilderness and the lord went before them by day in a pillar pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might travel by day and by night the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people one might say the journey begins there must have been an awful lot of heart searching amongst that large community of the children of israel with everything that they could take with them and all their livestock and that procession in haste out of the land of egypt i imagine was accompanied by many naysayers saying no we shouldn't be doing this surely safety and stability means we stay here why do we need to make the danger when the journey when the dangers are so many ahead but moses and aaron in their vision beginning at that moment at the burning bush when god gave moses his vocation for his own people in the wilderness the very uh remote part of the of the desert keeping the sheep and then in the burning bush that vision was given and from that moment onward well we've seen moses himself argue about whether this is wise and and have conversations with god and how aaron was given to him as a companion who could speak well but nevertheless leading this whole nation as it's to become of people with everything that they are going to take with them out of egypt on this journey in haste must have been a very hard business indeed and he obviously thought long and hard but his vocation is such that he is obedient to god's command and this is a sense and let's think about that where past and present and future are all enshrined in those few verses which i've just read the past is symbolized by taking the bones of joseph it was joseph who first beckoned them to egypt 430 years before according to the book of exodus and jacob his father had brought that much smaller community down into egypt for their own welfare for the resources for feeding them were there and the stability of a community to develop was there in the land of egypt so they went there and were greeted by joseph who had in wise decision making and also shall we say visions and dreams and the way in which he could interpret the signs and seasons was there in egypt having made a store of resources huge resources so that the people might be fed and there be enough grain left over to plant when the seasons changed and the climate once again ended the famine ended the drought and allowed planting to take place all of that we saw in the book of genesis now we're in a different place but the past is being remembered absolutely crucial in this in our human state living in time as we keep saying all times and seasons past present and future are now for our creator who for whom time although time is something created time means nothing for he is the god who said i am at the burning bush and i am in the anointed one jesus himself as he is revealed in the new covenant but here we see the past being honored as a reminder well we do that day by day by looking back at dates i've mentioned richard hooker today dying in the year 1600 but still giving by his thinking which has developed on through through through a basis a foundation for our anglican episcopal strand of the holy catholic church resting on the past but active in the present and the present for the children of israel is a time when they have to take action because there is danger in the land of egypt if they stay there they are enslaved and used by the pharaoh in a way that will not allow them to flourish and develop and their god is calling them out of egypt in the voices of moses and of aaron that's the present and the future represented by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night leading them ever onward well there are plenty of fires by night and and and plumes of smoke issuing from places in our world at this time and the future is calling us to heed all of that but here that site of cloud by day and fire by night is a marking point a focus to draw them forward and that becomes a sign for the future it's tending to tell them where they're going on that particular journey it's a journey many of them physically probably would rather not make but and we get that grumbling through the early stages of the journey why why aren't we back in egypt at least we had this or that we had this kind of resource there and and this journey is is dangerous in itself and uncomfortable but journeys of that sort where a vision is calling forward are often dangerous and uncomfortable the past in the bones of joseph the future in the pillar of cloud and fire and the present the necessity and urgency of making that journey there is no other way whatever the dangers in front the danger behind is much more crucial and all these tune with everything that those who need gifts of wise leadership from now until the 12th of november at cop 26 there in the city of glasgow all those things are things which tune with the decisions they must make and one of those decisions is a decision of finance because as sir david attenborough said in his speech and many have echoed those who have caused most of the problems are those who are suffering least from the climatic changes which those problems are catastrophically and speedily effective and the gift of not only of christ himself but the gift of our planet in which we live our daily life and follow the teachings of the anointed one and the call of christ to new life beyond but also bring the qualities of the kingdom of heaven to our ordinary daily life all of that is shining there before us there is a there's a great hymn which uh john newton who wrote uh the that hymn of grace that uh we love to sing amazing grace how sweet the sound another of his hymns speaks of all of this the historic journey but locates it and so many images and signs i'm going to read it all because it's it's it's a lovely hymn and the tune will come into your your head as i as i actually read it glorious things of the are spoken zion city of our god he whose word cannot be broken formed thee for his own abode on the rock of ages founded what can shake thy sure repose with salvation's walls surrounded thou mayest smile at all thy foes see the streams of living waters springing from eternal love well supply thy sons and daughters and all fear of want remove who can faint while such a river ever flows their thirst to assuage grace which like the lord the giver never fails from age to age round each habitation hovering see the cloud and fire appear for a glory and a covering showing that the lord is near thus they march the pillar leading light by night and shade by day daily on the manner feeding which he gives them when they pray savior if of zion city i through grace remember am let the world deride or pity i will glory in thy name fading is the worldlings pleasure all his boasted pomp and show solid joys and lasting treasure none but zion's children know it's a picture taken from psalm 87 glorious things are spoken of you zion city of our god talking of the eternal city it's a picture taken also from isaiah as the hymn book reminds us in his in in the heading in that particular hymn book that i was using but that division is of the capacity to build a civilization which gives resources and welfare and security and that vision is a vision of the holy city the new jerusalem which is unfolded before us right at the end of the writings of the new covenant in the vision given at the end of the book of revelation but john newton is giving streams of living waters which have dried up in so many places because of the instability of the climate and the sense of things leading them on well for us pillars of smoke and fires in the night wild fires across the world are signs of warning and the necessity of this journey they're leading us on in a very very different way and yet they are expressing the urgency of it and today well finance why finance because those nations which are most rich need to help those who are most poor to effect measures that will make climatic change in their own countries step by step more likely it's one thing to say we must all do this it's another for each nation to count the cost of what that means on monday at the opening session of cop 26 there was a speech given by mia motley the prime minister of barbados and we've attached the link below in case you didn't see it a very powerful speech about what it meant in places that are threatened very quickly by the rising of oceans and these storms which which are being gathered by the fact of instability in the climate and the power which she put into that speech and also the inequality of nations in being able to deal with things and the need to help one another and that means real sacrifice of finance to help that but at the same time one remembers as you listen to that speech that assisting with enormous aid to repair the damage done by all these storms and fires of climate change often more expensive than the helping hand financial helping hand from rich nations whatever they have to sacrifice in their own lives uh rich nations to help those areas which are suffering most right throughout the world and she describes them in that that that time i mentioned also a print a speech by the prince of wales in which he says many of your countries are already feeling the devastating impact of climate change through ever-increasing droughts mudslides floods hurricanes cyclones and wildfires as we've just seen on that terrifying film that was a film shown at the opening ceremony any leader who has had to confront such life-threatening challenges knows that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of prevention but there's a a real exchequer truth sitting here on the monastic exchequer counting the cost the past leads us to know lessons of that kind carrying the bones of joseph the wise counselor who had made resources and plans for the future and being led by moses who has realized in his own vocation at the burning bush which caused him to turn aside and begin a completely different journey the urgency of all that and our own urgency in this particular journey and the resources needed and the present when folks say well surely we don't need to act quite yet the answer is it's almost too late for action now but there is a window of opportunity for those who are leaders to become statesmen states women which means that their vision for the future for the children and the children's children young people growing up now but the future stretching on through the millennia this is a key moment and we're talking about the precious gift of life that god has given not only us but the whole of this planet in the the context of this universe the journey is essential because of the dangers for the children of israel it's inconvenient it's dangerous in itself but it's the only way forward and we're talking once again i go back to david attenborough's speech the 10 000 years of climate stability which preceded our own generation allowed civilization to flourish and now the instability is causing it to decline and face unthinkable dangers the 430 years of life in egypt for the while while joseph was still there and the pharaohs were kindly disposed gave a chance for the infant nation which had been formed by the children of jacob children of israel to flourish and then suddenly danger was there they found themselves enslaved and the moment was there to move on the way was then it had to happen and they took the opportunity to leave much grumbling on the way many people dragging their feet and moses and aaron having a fairly difficult time and even god himself in that lesson saying don't go by the way of the philistines if they meet hostile forces straight away their hearts will fail and they'll turn back and this is a journey you cannot turn back from echoes coming down from that ancient story of past present and future the cloud and the fire the danger equally facing every person as they move onwards but unless the journey is begun in our own age then no one is safe no corner of this planet is safe as the instability increases and increases every species of plant and wildlife facing the same dangers but all of humankind which has caused this now facing those dangers itself there's only one way of safety and it will be in privations hard uncomfortable realization has come slowly but now is the moment when we have realized and every speech echoes the same message in different contexts today in terms of finance yesterday in terms of plant life and forestation and good decisions being made about all of that and day by day we shall go on with those decisions that cop 26 and the leaders gathered there are having to make it's a heavy responsibility and never have they needed our prayers more everything costs for those who have in financial terms in order that all these decisions can be made and resources financial resources shared so that the decisions can be made together across the 190 nations many of whom as uh mrs motley said in her speech didn't exist when the united nations was first formed immediately after the second world war but now they do and many are nations massively threatened by what's going on this is when vision becomes reality and one might say the same about any calling with the john newton him amazing grace we're set free in order that our vision might become reality and following jesus causes us to go along away followers of the way is what the early christians were called um the saints of those little communities followers of the way following jesus not an easy path but once one has seen the vision once the light has shone on us once the streams of grace are flowing it's the only way and the way forward becomes the way of life and light and always they're accompanying us our god in the present tense which moses himself believed in from the moment of the burning bush onwards so let's say our prayers on this particular day and our prayers are focused uh to the absolute pinpoint of what is going on and decisions made at that crucial conference in glasgow representing the nations of the world at this crucial time a time of decision so as we say our prayers we are praying today for all those provinces of our anglican communion most affected already by climate change and the way in which they are having to minister to and look after their people and we pray also within our own diocese for justin our archbishop at glasgow and for rose bishop of dover and emma bishop at lambus assisting the archbishop so let's focus our minds and our attentions on what we can do step by step to effect the necessary decisions which this cop 26 conference will make here's the collect for today almighty and eternal god you have kindled the flame of love in the hearts of the saints grant to us the same faith and power of love that as we rejoice in their triumphs we may be sustained by their example and fellowship through jesus christ our lord our men that lovely colic reminds us that this is a journey we never make alone let's then say the our father together in whatever language you like to use our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever are men moment now of reflection on this day [Music] is so foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] i am surrounded here in the front garden by uh trees which themselves looked like burning bushes today with their autumnal leaves touched by the autumn sunshine you have quite near you there a tree called the pride of india and next to it the meta sequoia both are shining in the sunshine the very tall cut leaf alder and the korean fir tree trees from all over the world but nearest to me and perhaps uh tallest of all amongst this little group here these trees we planted about 10 years ago ago so they've grown up really well and they they protect the hens and things which run here from the peregrine falcons but this this tall tree here is a liquid amber like the tiny tree that i was speaking to yesterday next to me which has only recently been planted and planting a tree of course is one of the great steps forward in this climate change but this liquid amber has grown up tall tall tall next to the walnut tree here and the sun is catching it like a burning bush a pillar of fire in the day not in the night the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you upon those whom you love and those whom you would pray for today and always amen [Music] [Music] all of us earth to cop community chaos this morning and delays for the day as high levels of water brought services to a standstill the metropolis says we should be braced for more of this forget somewhere they say it's going [Applause] footprint is about 16 tons of carbon emissions what about cop26 what is copper the potential threat to the surrounding natural environment you can see the ocean becoming again no no don't be sorry future generations [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] even on our warming planet there are reasons for hope we need to have the courage to try more jobs created in the green economy climate change is not the problem climate change is the expression of the problem the renewable energy technologies to fundamentally transform the energy system are at our disposal so how do we begin the process of reversing global warming we need innovation and this can be really great people are starting to buy electric cars launch the largest tree plantation campaign it is now cheaper to build off your wind farms develop that climate altering by continually reinvesting in our grassland we are looking part of down opportunity in agriculture we can become stubborn optimists is one of the most important diplomatic gatherings in the humanity already knows what to do but we can set that gun we've but there is momentum roll up your sleeves and do it your royal highnesses your excellencies lords ladies and gentlemen please welcome his royal highness the prince of wales [Music] your excellencies ladies and gentlemen the kevin 19 pandemic has shown us just how devastating a global cross-border threat can be climate change and biodiversity loss are no different in fact they pose an even greater existential threat to the extent that we have to put ourselves on what might be called a wall-like footing having myself had the opportunity of consulting many of you over these past 18 months i know you all carry a heavy burden on your shoulders and you do not need me to tell you that the eyes and hopes of the world are upon you to act with all dispatch and decisively because time has quite literally run out the recent ipcc report gave us a clear diagnosis of the scale of the problem we know what we must do with a growing global population creating ever increasing demand on the planet's finite resources we have to reduce emissions urgently and take action to tackle the carbon already in the atmosphere including from coal-fired power stations putting a value on carbon thus making carbon capture solutions more economical is therefore absolutely critical similarly after billions of years of evolution nature is our best teacher in this regard restoring natural capital accelerating nature-based solutions and leveraging the circular bio economy will be vital to our efforts as we tackle this crisis our efforts cannot be a series of independent initiatives running in parallel the scale and scope of the threat we face call for a global systems level solution based on radically transforming our current fossil fuel-based economy to one that is genuinely renewable and sustainable so ladies and gentlemen my plea today is for countries to come together to create the environment that enables every sector of industry to take the action required we know this will take trillions not billions of dollars we also know that countries many of whom are burdened by growing levels of debt simply cannot afford to go green here we need a vast military-style campaign to marshal the strength of the global private sector with trillions at its disposal far beyond global gdp and with the greatest respect beyond even the governments of the world's leaders it offers the only real prospect of achieving fundamental economic transition so how do we do it first how do we get the private sector all pulling in the same direction after nearly two years now of consultation ceos have told me that we need to bring together global industries to map out in very practical terms what it will take to make the transition we know from the pandemic that the private sector can speed up timelines dramatically when everyone agrees on the urgency and the direction so each sector needs a clear strategy to speed up the process of getting innovations to market second who pays and how we need to align private investment behind those behind these industries strategies to help finance the transition efforts which means building the confidence of investors so that the financial risk is reduced crucially investment is needed to help transition from coal to clean energy if we can develop a pipeline of many more sustainable and bankable projects at a sufficient scale it will attract greater investment third which switches do we flick to enable these objectives more than 300 of the world's leading ceos and institutional investors have told me that alongside the promises countries have made their nationally determined contributions they need clear market signals agreed globally so that they have the confidence to invest without the goal post suddenly moving this is the framework i've offered in the terra carter road map created by my sustainable markets initiative with nearly 100 specific actions for acceleration together we are working to drive trillions of dollars in support of transition across 10 of the most emitting and polluting industries they include energy agriculture transportation health systems and fashion the reality of today's global supply chains means that industry transition will affect every country and every producer in the world there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the private sector is ready to play its part and to work with governments to find a way forward your excellencies ladies and gentlemen many of your countries i know are already feeling the devastating impact of climate change through ever increasing droughts mudslides floods hurricanes cyclones and wildfires as we've just seen on that terrifying film any leader who has had to confront such life-threatening challenges knows that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of prevention so i can only urge you as the world's decision makers to find practical ways of overcoming differences so we can all get down to work together to rescue this precious planet and save the threatened future of our young people [Applause] please welcome the prime minister of barbados mia motley [Music] your royal highness excellencies distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen the pandemic has taught us that national solutions to global problems do not work we come to glasgow with global ambition to save our people and to save our planet but we now find three gaps on mitigation climate pledges or ndc's without more we will leave the world on a pathway to 2.7 degrees and with more we are still likely to get to two degrees these commitments made by some are based on technologies yet to be developed and this is at best reckless and at worst dangerous on finance we are twenty billion dollars short of the hundred billion and this commitment even then might only be met in twenty twenty three on adaptation adaptation finance remains only at 25 not the 50 50 split that was promised nor needed given the warming that has already taken place on this earth climate finance the front line small island developing states declined by 25 percent in 2019 failure to provide the critical finance and that of loss and damage is measured my friends in lives and livelihoods in our communities this is immoral and it is unjust if glasgow is to deliver on the promises of paris it must close these three gaps so i asked to you what must we say to our people living on the front line in the caribbean in africa in latin america in the pacific when both ambition and regrettably some of the needed faces at glasgow are not present what excuse should we give for the failure in the words of that caribbean icon eddie grant will they mourn us on the front line when will we as world leaders across the world address the pressing issues that are truly causing our people angst and worry whether it is climate or whether it is vaccines simply put when will leaders lead our people are watching and our people are taking note and are we really going to leave scotland without the resolve and the ambition that is sorely needed to save lives and to save our planet how many more voices and how many more pictures of people must we see on these screens without being able to move or are we so blinded and hardened that we can no longer appreciate the cries of humanity i have been saying to barbadians for many years that many hands make light work today we need the correct mix of voices ambition and action do some leaders in this world believe that they can survive and thrive on their own have they not learned from the pandemic can there be peace and prosperity if one third of the world literally prospers and the other two-thirds of the world live under siege and face calamitous threats to our well-being what the world needs now my friends is that which is within the ambit of less than 200 persons who are willing and prepared to lead leaders must not fail those who elect them to lead and i say to you there is a sword that can cut down this gordian knot and it has been wielded before the central banks of the wealthiest countries engaged in 25 trillion dollars of quantitative easing in the last 13 years 25 trillion of that 9 trillion was in the last 18 months to fight the pandemic had we used that 25 trillion to purchase bonds to finance the energy transition or the transition of how we eat or how we move ourselves in transport we would now today be reaching that 1.5 degrees limit that is so vital to us i say to you today in glasgow that an annual increase in the sdrs of 500 billion dollars a year for 20 years put in a trust to finance the transition is the real gap secretary general that we need to close not the 50 billion being proposed for adaptation and if 500 billion songs big to you guess what it is just two percent of the 25 trillion this is the sword we need to wield our excitement one hour into this event is far less than it was six months ago leading up to this event can we with those voices and these speeches from david and others find it within ourselves to get the resolve to bring glasgow back on track or do we leave today believing that it was a failure before it starts our world my friends stands at a fork in the road one no less significant than when the united nations was formed in 1945 but then the majority of our countries here did not exist we exist now the difference is we want to exist a hundred years from now and if our existence is to mean anything then we must act in the interests of all of our people who are dependent on us and if we don't we will allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction the leaders of today not 2030 not 2050 must make this choice it is in our hands and our people and our planet need it more than ever we can work with who is ready to go because the train is ready to leave and those who are not yet ready we need to continue to ring circle and to remind them that their people not our people but their citizens need them to get on board as soon as possible cord red code red to the g7 countries code red code red to the g20 earth the cop that's what it said earth to cop for those who have ice to see for those who have ears to listen and for those who have a heart to feel 1.5 is what we need to survive two degrees yes sg is a death sentence for the people of antigua and barbuda for the people of the maldives for the people of dominica and fiji for the people of kenya and mozambique and yes for the people of samoa and barbados we do not want that dreaded death sentence and we've come here today to say try harder try harder because our people the climate army the world the planet needs our actions now not next year not in the next decade thank you you