By Cathy Velasquez Eberhart
The Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization…The Great Turning is a reality. Although we cannot know yet if it will take hold in time for humans and other complex life forms to survive, we can know that it is under way. And it is gaining momentum, through the actions of countless individuals and groups around the world. To see this as the larger context of our lives clears our vision and summons our courage. —Joanna Macy
The mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. umc.org
When I first started taking climate change seriously nearly 15 years ago now, Joanna Macy’s concept of the Great Turning was deeply inspiring to me. It seems to align with our own United Methodist mission statement and Jesus’ much older concept of the kin-dom of God. And indeed as Macy claims, this vision gives me courage and context for my own efforts.
Climate science has been clear for a long time that we have a very limited window of time during which we must remove coal, oil, and gas industries from the economy and replace them with renewable energy. There are growing reports that this energy transformation is inevitable and happening quickly, exponentially even, but climate collapse and disruptions are accelerating too. “We are in a race between climate and economic tipping points. The direction is inevitable, but speed is up to us” (RMI Cleantech Revolution).
This article summarizes some of the latest news I have run across from a variety of sources on the state of this transition. It also provides a few suggestions on how we might help accelerate it.
Climate Realities
First the bad news.
New research finds that a critical Atlantic current (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC) is significantly more likely to collapse due to climate change, which would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa, and the Americas. (The Guardian, April 15, 2026)
We continue to set heat records. The US just came through the second-hottest winter on record, and a “Super El Niño” weather pattern is likely to bring a hot and volatile summer, among other sobering predictions.
Drought and famine are increasing across the world, even as international aid has been eliminated. In the US, western snowpack was the lowest on record and is already leading to water shortages and increased wildfire risks.
Meanwhile, policy changes in the US are rolling back clean energy programs while the rapid expansion of hyper-scale data centers threaten to dramatically expand demand for power.
Energy Transformation
At the same time, the news is also full of remarkably positive headlines indicating the shift to a clean energy system is rapidly underway. Here are some recent highlights with quotes and links to articles where you can learn more.
Solar panels and wind turbines combined with batteries are revolutionizing our energy system quickly because they are now the most affordable option. Policy changes may slow things down, but the clean tech transition can no longer be stopped.
The new generation of wind and solar power, batteries, and electric vehicles are on the verge of, or have already achieved, escape velocity, breaking free from the gravity of political capriciousness. In a lot of places, especially in power generation, the cleanest option is also the fastest, the cheapest, and the one most likely to turn a profit. That’s true whether or not you care about the climate. (Escape Velocity, Vox)
Renewable energy sources now produce more of the world’s electricity than coal and as of April also gas. Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity on the planet. Wind and solar together have met 99% of new electricity needs. And coal, oil, and gas combined fell by 0.2 percent in 2025, the first decline since the pandemic and only the fifth year this century that fossil generation didn’t rise. (Global wind and solar power outpace gas for first time in April, report shows, Reuters, May 20, 2026)
Clean sources are now growing fast enough, on their own, to absorb just about everything the world is adding to its grid. And there’s a decent chance that, thanks in part to what’s happening right now in the Middle East, that transition may speed up. (The fall of coal — and the rise of solar, Vox Good News April 25, 2026)
Sales of gas-powered cars have declined by more than 20 percent while sales of electric vehicles have grown almost thirtyfold. In 2025, 25% of the world’s car sales were EVs or hybrids, more than 50% in the EU and China. Countries like China and India and other countries have moved past their emissions peak. And in 2026, the world may spend more on green energy than on military spending. (Green Transition is Still Happening, New York Times, February 25, 2026)
Christiana Figueres, the former head of the U.N.’s climate change body, told me that climate politics didn’t matter nearly as much as climate economy—the combination of cheap solar and battery power, the price volatility of fossil fuels, domestic energy crises and geopolitics pushing countries toward energy autonomy, and the relative ease of installing new renewables are all powering the global transition even under conditions of policy uncertainty. —David Wallace-Wells, Green Transition Is Still Happening, New York Times, February 25, 2026)
These clean tech changes are happening rapidly, especially the availability and installation of low cost, reliable batteries that are now supplying renewable energy for utility grinds at night. (Uncanny Speed, The Crucial Years, Bill McKibben, May 7, 2026)
Here’s where things start to get really interesting, because those batteries are suddenly pouring into utility electric grids, and in the process making already-valuable solar and wind farms all the more powerful. In essence, they’re turning nighttime into sunny noon. (Night Into Day, The Crucial Years, Bill McKibben, March 30, 2026)
The disruptions caused by the Iran War, as bad as they are, are having the positive impact of accelerating the global shift to renewable energy. The closure of the strait of Hormuz is causing “demand destruction” as disrupted supplies of fossil fuels lead not just to skyrocketing prices, but long-term shifts.
What if in a decade or a century people remember this as the point when the world really turned away from this filthy, corrupting, unreliable, destructive resource? What if two petro-states, by demonstrating the unreliable, manipulable nature of the supply, sped the change (with a preliminary nudge from Russia, a third petro-state)? (Truth, Consequences, Climate and Demand Destruction, Meditations in an Emergency, Rebecca Solnit, May 3, 2026)
This war is also challenging the sense that fossil fuels are reliable. Shortages and disruptions are clearly demonstrating that renewable energy sources are now not only more affordable and they are also more dependable and secure. In many ways, the transition to renewable energy is also about peace and stability. (Oil and Gas=Peril and Poverty/ Solar and Wind=Prosperity and Protection, The Crucial Years, Bill McKibben, April 7, 2026)
It’s going to be hard to figure out how to fight wars over sunshine. What I’m trying to say is, if you’re for peace and democracy, then a solar panel is a valuable tool (and a valuable symbol, a peace sign for our age). Every one that goes up incrementally reduces the attractiveness of the oil that underlies so much conflict and tyranny … we should … work to push out the kind of energy that can’t be hoarded or controlled. (Just possibly it’s the oil? The Crucial Years, Bill McKibbon, January 3, 2026)
Meanwhile, 57 countries met in Columbia in late April for the first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference (TAFF) to discuss how to create a just, viable, and fair pathway to phase out fossil fuels. Faith leaders were there too and added their moral voices in support of a Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Fossil Fuels. (A Telos Moment for Energy, Becca Edwards, Texas Impact, April 29, 2026)
More than transition, we need transformation. A transformation that is socio-ecological, spiritual, and civilizational. This urgency knocks on the doors of communities of faith and impells us to support the work in Santa Marta and beyond. We are called to find each other and together to promote an ethic of relationality and an eco-spirituality that celebrates the sacredness of life on Earth, reconciliation among religions and peoples, and the strengthening of community initiatives and collective rights, to contribute to a holistic, solidarity-based, and people-centered transition.” (Transition to Transformation: A Faithful Roadmap to Moving Away from Fossil Fuels, Blessed Tomorrow)
And on May 20, 2026, a United Nations resolution voted 141–8 to affirm a historic World Court Decision from last year that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change. “The court’s advisory opinion is already being used in climate litigation around the world and judges are starting to reference it in their climate-related rulings. (UN backs historic climate crisis ruling, despite US attempts to stop resolution, The Guardian, May 20, 2026, See also In a rare show of global unity, countries adopt landmark climate ruling, Grist, May 22, 2026)
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate, said of the decision: “I choose my words carefully when I say that this may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity.” Christiana Figueres, who presided over the negotiations that created the Paris Climate Treaty declared, with jubilation, on her podcast Outrage and Optimism: “This is without a doubt, the most far-reaching, the most comprehensive and the most consequential legal opinion we’ve ever had.” (This May Well Be the Most Consequential Case in the History of Humanity, Meditations in an Emergency, Rebecca Solnit, May 25, 2026)
Acceleration Opportunities
How can we as United Methodists contribute to this transformation? First of all, be encouraged, there is good news to share here too. United Methodists are already taking action across our connection and there is good work you can do in your context too.
The first thing you can do is talk about this essential energy transition. Research conducted by EcoAmerica affirms that “Most Americans are concerned about climate change, but they don’t think most others share that concern. That quiet misunderstanding is one of the biggest barriers to climate action in the United States.” (Trust, Media Habits, and Misperceptions Shape Public Understanding of Climate Change, EcoAmerica, April 9, 2026)
As a recent BTS report echoed, churches can play a unique role in a climate changed world. “With rich histories of advocating for justice and providing care, faith communities have the opportunity to envision and nurture a world in which intensifying challenges turn people toward rather than against one another.” (All That Is Within Us: The unique role churches can play in a climate-changed world, BTS Center)
During this annual conference season, United Methodist leaders are also presenting resolutions related to data centers, fossil fuel divestment, and resourcing local congregations with practical planning for this energy transition. We will report more on annual conference outcomes in coming newsletters, but we can already celebrate the passage of fossil fuel divestment in the Baltimore Washington Conference on May 27, 2026.
We are excited to report that the UM Creation Justice Movement has been invited by the Council of Bishops Justice and Reconciliation Committee to offer a climate-justice training for United Methodist Bishops. A team is working with the Center for Ecological Regeneration at Garrett Seminary to create a curriculum that will be launched in September.
Another UMCJ Movement Team is working to develop a Green Church Movement resource, modeled after successful Green Church Initiatives in Virginia, Ohio, and others. We’ll have more to share on this resource later in the year as this is developed.
Finally, a new cohort of EarthKeepers just completed the Spring 2026 online Global Ministries course and are launching their projects in their communities across the country from Alaska to Florida, Ohio, Kansas, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and others. A sampling of their projects that you can check out for yourself through the Creation Care Network includes solar panels, heat and wildfire resiliency, energy efficiency, conference green teams, EV chargers, community gardens, and so much more. We are excited to welcome them to our growing Movement. And welcome you as well.
I’ll close with two more quotes from Rebecca Sonit’s blog, Meditations in an Emergency that I have found to be a source of great inspiration during these challenging times,
There’s so much more going on, good and bad, in local and international scales, at the level of the grassroots, on the margins and in the shadows, and in culture as it continues to be an unstoppable generator of ideas that turn into realities as laws, as the way we believe, as the values we act on.
As indigenous Guam lawyer Julian Aguon wrote, “No offering is too small. No stone unneeded. All of us—whether we choose to become human rights lawyers or corporate counsel, or choose never to practice law at all but instead become professors or entrepreneurs or disappear anonymous among the poor or stay at home and raise bright, delicious children—all of us, without exception, are qualified to participate in the rescue of the world.
Learning Sources
News about this energy transformation is abundant. Here are a few good sources to stay updated:
The Crucial Years, Bill McKibben’s blog
Refugia Newsletter, Debra Reienstra’s blog
Talking Climate, Katharine Hayhoe’s blog
Meditations in an Emergency, Rebecca Sonit’s blog especially:
This May Well Be the Most Consequential Case in the History of Humanity (May 25, 2026),
Truth, Consequences, Climate, and Demand Destruction (May 3, 2026),
If Fossil Fuels Are War, Renewables Can Bring Peace (March 21, 2026)
Cathy Velasquez Eberhart is a leader in the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and a commissioned Global Ministries Earthkeeper in the Minnesota Annual Conference. Cathy and her husband Guillermo live in St. Paul, MN where they run Velasquez Family Coffee, which sells coffee grown by their family in Honduras.