Megan Basham and the 2022 NAE Report

Chapter 1 of Basham's book is "Climate Change."  After an anecdote about a CRC pastor talking about climate change at Christmastime, Basham offers the cases of Sri Lanka, Holland, and Ghana (pp. 2-3)

Then, she makes her first concrete claim (p. 3): 

Meanwhile, in the United States, the National Association of Evangelicals released a 2022 report telling American Christians that supporting the very policies responsible for all this is what it means to love "the least of these."11

The report itself can be found here (link to report).

The policies identified by Basham for Sri Lanka were "a 2021 green policy banning imports of chemical fertilizers and pesticides." For Holland, she mentioned: "a 30 percent reduction in livestock...." For Ghana, "transition away from 'polluting and expensive oil-burning electricity' and toward solar and hydropower" and "less-effective organic fertilizers mandated by Paris Accord climate commitments." 

You may share my disappointment that the report contains not a whisper regarding "the very policies" Basham mentions, particularly as to the food and farming regulations.  The closest thing I could find was the "Real World Example" bridging pages 74-75 of the report, which states: "The church planted a community garden and discussed the importance of stewarding their bodies with healthy food and keeping food safe from chemical contamination."  

Basham is closer to the target on oil regulations.  The report argues: "To prevent the problem of a heating globe from getting worse, we need to stop emissions from burning coal, oil and gas." (p. 62).  Again, at page 71: "We need to severely cut greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide and methane and switch to non-fossil fuel energy sources. ... Mitigation means using more efficient appliances, shifting to public transportation and renewable energy-powered vehicles, prioritizing energy savings, eating more plant-based diets, and passing legislation that helps speed up the transition to renewable energy." 

The authors of the NAE report might support all the policies that Basham blames. They are certainly broadly supportive of reducing reliance on oil, which is one of the policies that Basham blames in Ghana.  Nevertheless, Basham levels a false assertion when she claims that the report tells American Christians that supporting "the very policies" is what it means to love the least of Christ's brethren. 

Additionally, it is not at all clear from the report that the authors of the NAE report would support the "very policies."  They certainly support the broad aim of reducing man-made pollution.  Nevertheless, considering the report's emphasis on the duties of those who have helping those who do not have, it is hard to imagine them supporting relatively poor countries, like Sri Lanka or Ghana, attempting to mitigate issues entirely unsupported. 

The kinds of solutions emphasized by the report are reflected by this screenshot from p. 65:

Notice the recognition of the inability of "poorer communities" to do unilateral mitigation and the suggestion of churches as doing the work of charity to support those in need.

Basham could have accurately claimed that the report was based on an acceptance of the "climate change" narrative.  Such a claim, however, would lack the emotional impact that the quoted material from Basham offers.  Nevertheless, truth - not emotional impact - should be our guide.

Just because we disagree with the NAE regarding climate change does not mean we can blithely slander them.