WE love talking about the weather - and that weather has been leaving us all cold recently - just the way the climate talks in Copenhagen left many of us. The news from the climate summit was, shall we say, ‘underwhelming’.

Last minute wrangling failed to deliver the agreement so many had hoped for. But, whilst disappointing, the news from Copenhagen doesn’t have to leave us out in the cold. Some progress was made and politicians will be having another crack at a deal in Mexico later this year – but what happens in the meantime? It is clear that we need to keep pushing for deeper progress on abating climate change globally in 2010. But if global talks teach us anything it is that we also need to be looking locally at what we can do here in the UK.

The insight of the gospels is that faith must be incarnated, made real in the here and now - and that it concerns our relationship with the whole creation. There is often far too much talk in religion, just as there is far too much talk among politicians. Now talking can be good - but we also need to live the stuff we say. Only then can we become people who can genuinely encourage others.

The good news is that we don’t need to wait for the global deal to be talked through. We are free to incarnate what we believe to be the right thing here and now. Tens of thousands of people, businesses and organisations have already pledged to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. If hundreds of thousands of us actually did that, it could really shake things up globally, as well as locally. There’s more information about how to sign up to cut your emissions on the new environment section of diocesan website atwww.oxford.anglican.org/environment.

Have a look! And join us for the Living Hope: Green Churches & Green Schools conference on 6th March in Gt Missenden to explore this and other practical ways to respond to climate change.