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Faith leaders - tackling climate change is a "moral imperative"

Posted On : October 30, 2009 3:25 PM | Posted By : Admin ACO
Related Categories: Lambeth

ACNS: http://aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2009/10/30/ACNS4664

The Archbishop of Canterbury hosted a meeting of faith leaders and
faith-based and community organisations at Lambeth Palace to discuss the
response of faith communities to the environmental crisis. With 40 days
to go before the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit the participants have
pledged to work together to raise awareness about the effects of
'catastrophic climate change' on the world's poor and to take whatever
action they can to "to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable
practice." At the meeting a number of presentations highlighted the kind
of action faith communities and faith-based organisations were already
taking in the UK and with partners overseas.

In the first statement of its kind, signed by leaders from every faith
community (including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,
Baha'i, Jain and Zoastrian) the signatories recognise "unequivocally
that there is a moral imperative to tackle the causes of global warming"
and that "Faith communities have a crucial role to play in pressing for
changes in behaviour at every level of society and in every economic
sector. We all have a responsibility to learn how to live and develop
sustainably in a world of finite resources".

They call for the UK government and G20 governments in particular to
fight for an ambitious deal which offers hope of rises in global
temperature being kept within two degrees centigrade.

The statement has been welcomed by the Department for Energy and Climate
Change (DECC). The Secretary of State Ed Miliband said: "Tackling
climate change is a cause that unites people of all faiths. Each
generation holds the planet in trust for the next and to fulfil our
obligations to these future generations, we must succeed in getting a
fair and ambitious agreement. We need the voice of all the world's
religions in the coming weeks as we approach the Copenhagen summit."

Dr Williams said: "This is an important meeting - the first of its kind
in the UK. We all have to do more to face the challenges of climate
change. Faith communities have a crucial role to play. That was
highlighted today as were some of the things already being done. We must
do our bit and encourage others to do theirs. Together we can and we
will make a difference".

> The full text of the statement is below:

Statement by Faith Leaders and participants in the Faith and Climate
Change Seminar hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace,
29 October 2009

As leaders and representatives of faith communities and faith-based
organisations in the UK we wish to highlight the very real threat to the
world's poor, and to our fragile creation, from the threat of
catastrophic climate change. The developed world is primarily
responsible for the already visible effects of global heating. Justice
requires that we now take responsibility for slowing the rise in global
temperature. We call upon UK negotiators at Copenhagen, and the other
nations of the G20 in particular, to fight for a deal which speedily
ends unsustainable reliance on fossil fuels and puts in place urgent
measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that global temperature
rise may be kept within two degrees centigrade.

We recognise unequivocally that there is a moral imperative to tackle
the causes of global warming. This is reinforced by the reality that it
is the poor and vulnerable who are most profoundly affected by the
environmental impact of climate change - especially drought, floods,
water shortages and rise in sea levels. Faith communities have a crucial
role to play in pressing for changes in behaviour at every level of
society and in every economic sector. We all have a responsibility to
learn how to live and develop sustainably in a world of finite
resources.

This responsibility comes into sharp focus today with less than 40 days
before representatives of governments from across the world meet to
agree a deal on climate change.

Building on the examples of local and international action to live and
to work together sustainably which have been highlighted in our meeting
today we pledge to:

*Reach out to our communities, both in the UK and internationally, in
the coming weeks to raise awareness of the real potential for
catastrophic climate change and to increase public support for an
ambitious, fair and effective deal at Copenhagen;
*Continue to share best practice and redouble our efforts to reduce
emissions that result from our institutional and individual activities;
*Work with our partners, our sister churches and communities
internationally to mitigate the effects of climate change on the poorest
and most vulnerable communities in the developing world; and to press
governments to support that effort.

To help to achieve these ends we agree to use today's meeting as the
first step in an ongoing process of collaboration. We believe our
communities can be key agents of change and urge the Government wherever
possible to support our efforts to build capacity and commitment to
reduce carbon emissions, raise awareness and promote sustainable
practice.

> Ends

> Notes to editors:

> Podcasts from the event are available here:
> www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2583

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