Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe Tells Christians: Climate Change Is Your Biggest Moral Fight

Evangelical Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe Says Christians Must Lead on Climate Action

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, the World Evangelical Alliance's Climate Ambassador and a professor at Texas Tech University, is calling on Christians worldwide to embrace climate action as a core expression of their faith.

In an interview with writer Bruce Barron published on March 9, 2026, by Christian Daily International, Hayhoe outlined why she believes the climate crisis is the greatest existential threat facing humanity today and why the church must respond.

Hayhoe pointed to organizations like Tearfund, A Rocha, Operation Noah, World Vision, and Compassion International as examples of faith based groups already leading the charge on environmental stewardship.

There is so much hopeful work happening globally that doesn't always make headlines.

Hayhoe said during the interview.

The interview comes at a politically charged moment. On February 12, 2026, President Trump reversed the EPA's "endangerment finding" that had been the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gases. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a "hoax."

On the topic of climate skepticism among Christians, Hayhoe drew a distinction between genuine skeptics and those engaged in what psychologists call "motivated reasoning."

A true skeptic is someone who lacks information and is open to evidence. When our identity or worldview feels threatened, our brains are remarkably good at dismissing inconvenient facts.

She noted that global Christians overwhelmingly support climate action, and highlighted Tony Rinaudo's work in farmer managed natural regeneration across the Sahel, where millions of trees have been restored, as well as the Church Forests of Ethiopia, where communities protect biodiversity through faith based conservation.

Hayhoe emphasized that climate change, loss of nature, and pollution are not only environmental issues but profoundly human ones, disproportionately impacting the world's most vulnerable people who contribute least to the problem.

Christian Climate Advocate Katharine Hayhoe Urges Churches to Act on Environmental Stewardship

The Lausanne Movement and the WEA Sustainability Center in Bonn, Germany, were also cited as key players in mobilizing evangelical Christians on environmental issues.

Hayhoe, who also serves as Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and is the author of the bestselling book Saving Us, stressed that Christian identity should not be defined by any political party or leader.

Our identity is not defined by any political party or leader.

She said, urging believers to look beyond partisan divides and focus on their biblical calling to steward creation and care for the vulnerable.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be direct. I believe in stewardship of God's creation. Genesis 2:15 is clear: we are to tend and keep the earth. But when "climate action" becomes a vehicle for massive wealth redistribution, government overreach, and an ideology that treats human beings as the problem rather than the crown of creation, I get off the bus.

The same people telling us carbon emissions are the great moral crisis of our time are silent on the 73 million babies aborted every year. They will fly private jets to climate summits but lecture working families about their gas stoves. The hypocrisy is staggering.

Christians absolutely should care for creation. But we must never let a political movement hijack our faith. Our ultimate allegiance is to Christ, not to any earthly agenda, left or right.

Take Action

• Read the full interview with Katharine Hayhoe at Christian Daily International and form your own informed opinion.
• Support persecuted Christians who are disproportionately affected by environmental disasters in vulnerable regions through The Shepherd's Shield.
• Support Open Doors to help Christians in the most dangerous places on earth.
• Explore faith based environmental stewardship through A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization working in over 20 countries.
• Have an honest conversation at your church about what biblical stewardship of creation looks like, without letting partisan politics hijack the discussion.