Bristol Cathedral hosts 'Oil Fountain'

Luke Jerram's Oil Fountain

On 15 June we welcomed Luke Jerram's installation titled 'Oil Fountain' to Bristol's Church of England Cathedral. It highlights contemporary society's reliance on oil and the need to move away from this dependency. Oil Fountain is a beautiful acrylic fountain sculpture which flows with artificial oil instead of water, dripping noiselessly into black mirror-like pools.

Red Rebels, Bristol Climate Choir, Christian Climate Action and others heard speeches from Jonnie Parkin, Canon Missioner of Bristol Cathedral, and from Luke Jerram who urged us to consider our pensions and banking which are deeply invested in fossil fuels. Chloe Naldrett of Bristol XR Families spoke of the pressing need for action now, and gratitude for all activists.

We processed as part of an inclusive welcome ceremony into the Cathedral, the Red Rebels leading silently and slowly, inviting people to reflect, and to express grief for all we have lost, as the climate choir sang. Jonnie, having expressed how the Cathedral aims to be there for all, especially the marginalised, read the Canticle of. St Francis. As we came out, there was an oil action of XRYouth, drowning in oil, and a 'die in' with 25 bodies covered with cloth, barefoot with toe tags. We ended the event rising up and dancing with Bob Marley's 'Get up stand up, don't give up the fight.'

Next evening, an expert panel from the worlds of climate science, psychology, industry, lobbying and activism, each with particular perspectives on how we can respond to the climate crisis, came to the Cathedral to discuss, 'What can we do to limit the impacts of climate change, and how can we adapt to the changes locked in?'

Panelists included Daniela Schmidt, Professor at the School of Earth Science at the University of Bristol. Her research combines assessment of past climate change and modern process understanding to better assess risk, impacts and potential for adaptation of ecosystems to climate change and she wrote some of the recent IPCC reports. She spoke movingly of the need for change, but that carbon footprints were a distraction device of the oil industry to put the onus on the individual. She debunked another false argument that India and China may have the highest overall emissions, but per capita tiny compared to the UK per capita toll, and they are changing fast, unlike the UK government. She mentioned there was a commitment in COP 26 to phase palm oil products out, which has never been actioned. She said our most important acts were to vote and to consider carefully the implications of everything we buy, without making people in difficult situations feel they have to do the impossible.

Steph Lake of Operation Noah works with Churches of all denominations to address the climate crisis, particularly encouraging churches to divest from fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions like renewable energy. She said there is enormous potential for the Churches in land and investments to make a really prophetic stand and that the policy of engagement with fossil fuel polluters has failed for 40 years. She said we must talk to everyone we know, beginning from where they themselves stand.

Rev'd Canon Jonathan Herbert is a member of Hilfield Friary Franciscan Community in Dorset, a community living sustainably. He is also a member of Christian Climate Action and has been involved in a number of non-violent protests highlighting the climate and ecological emergency as he realised that living simply was not enough and that as a retired and wealthy member of the community it was all the more incumbent on him to act and even risk arrest.

Paul Hoggett is a practising psychotherapist and the co-founder and first Chair of the Climate Psychology Alliance. Starting in Bristol a decade ago the Alliance is now a world-wide network of mental health professionals who bring their knowledge and skills to engage with the climate crisis. It urges that we honour our grief and by doing so engage with the energy for change. And that facts don't change people, meanings do, hence the important role of the arts and faith communities.

Jon Sankey, Head of Business Development for Vattenfall Heat UK, is responsible for driving the growth of Vattenfall's Heat Network in Bristol. Jon sits within a dedicated Vattenfall Bristol team with extensive experience of developing heat networks here, elsewhere in the UK and abroad. He sits on the Bristol Advisory Committee for Climate Change and is a Trustee of North Bristol Advice Centre. He gave a hugely encouraging report on the development and potential for heat networks, but again stressed the lack of support from Government was preventing its full development.

Olivia Sweeney is a chemical engineer by education, lifetime environmentalist and a former Black and Green Ambassador. As part of this, she and two other ambassadors were invited to share the outcomes of their work in the Blue Zone at COP 26. She has a radio show on Ujima Radio and is working towards clean air for all by providing grants, with a particular focus on how access to data is a vital part of creating change. She made the point that all current crises are intersectional; racism, inequality, the economic crisis, global conflict and the refugee crisis all have roots in the problems of climate change, which is fundamentally an issue of global justice.

Abigail Basketter, UWE (University of the West of England) is working within the Carbon & Energy team of UWE's Estates department and with the target of net zero emissions by 2030, The team have a decarbonisation plan to shift their buildings away from fossil fuels and Abbie works on education programmes to empower staff and students to understand and act on climate change within their own fields. She made the point that we are still gauging the effectiveness of programmes by their financial implications, without acknowledging that what we value most is not just financially accounted.

Rev'd Canon Jonnie Parkin of Bristol Cathedral, who chaired the discussion, speaks and campaigns on climate and environmental issues. Jonnie is also an active member of Project 30, the Cathedral's steering group investigating practical solutions to achieve its target of net zero by 2030. It was thanks to him and CCA Bristol that this tremendous sequence of events unfolded. I was inspired and encouraged that so much good work is going on.

Oil Fountain is on show at Bristol Church of England Cathedral until Sunday 2 July.

LINK

Bristol Cathedral: https://bristol-cathedral.co.uk/

Isabella Harding is a Bristol-based Christian Climate Action Catholic, and a Laudato Si Animator, seeking to make the Pope's Letter on the Environment known and acting to protect our common home.