WCC - RAISING ETHICAL DIMENSIONS IN DEBATE ON CLIMATE JUSTICE

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

World Council of Churches - News RAISING ETHICAL
DIMENSIONS IN DEBATE ON CLIMATE JUSTICE For
immediate release: 22 September 2011 Climate
change is impacting human life and nature in
severe ways. Yet it is the vulnerable who suffer
most. As the life of such people is dependent on
eco-systems for survival, churches join hands
with other faith based organizations to support
their cause, stressing an ethical aspect in the
debate on climate change. â??Faith based
organizations articulate concerns of the
marginalized communities and bring their issues
to mainstream forums. It is obligatory therefore
to address climate change and its impact on human
rights, as faith traditions signify care for the
environment,â?? says Nafisa Dâ??Souza, a climate
justice advocate from India. Dâ??Souza was
speaking at an event on climate change and human
rights titled â??Bridging the Gap: Faith and
Ethics Perspectivesâ?? organized by the World
Council of Churches (WCC) and the Geneva
Interfaith Forum on Climate Change, Environment
and Human Rights, in collaboration with the
German Human Rights Forum and United Evangelical
Mission (VEM) on 20 September 2011 in
Switzerland. Dâ??Souza is executive director for
the Laya Resource Centre (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=dacd75550efa85f937a0
), working for climate justice, with focus on
indigenous people in India. Responsibility for
creation â??What we have taken from the earth has
destroyed some parts of it. Ethical concern means
that responsibility for creation is to be taken
by all of us. In a polarized world where there is
an imbalance of power, faith based groups are
engaging in debate on development and its impact
on climate justice,â?? Dâ??Souza stated.
Dâ??Souza remains optimistic about the role of
faith organizations in promoting a
â??pro-peopleâ?? stance in the debate on climate
change. â??Churches and faith based organizations
can relate religious ideologies to a broader
ethical perspective. Religions that see
themselves as part of a global reality can
support the most affected by climate change. The
WCC is doing this by safeguarding the ethical
aspect in a debate for climate justice,â?? says
Dâ??Souza. These views were endorsed by Dr
Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive on
climate change. Speaking on behalf of the WCC and
the Geneva Interfaith Forum, he says, â??Churches
and faith based organizations acknowledge the
various dimensions of climate change. They are
witnessing how climate change is affecting
vulnerable communities on the ground, especially
those who have a strong link to nature and those
who are extremely dependent on the environment.
Being aware that these populations have
contributed less to climate change, it becomes
evident that climate change has an ethical
dimension.â?? Diverse perspectives on climate
change and human rights were shared by other
panellists. Sophia Wirsching from Brot für die
Welt (Bread for the World, Germany) especially
focused on climate displaced people and their
rights, while Theodor Rathgeber, from the German
Human Rights Forum, assessed the present
negotiations of climate change and human rights
at the Human Rights Council. The moderator of the
discussion was Valeriane Bernard from Brahma
Kumaris World Spiritual University and Geneva
Interfaith Forum. Presentations were followed by
discussions, where Hendrik Garcia, from the
Philippines diplomatic mission brought
participantsâ?? attention to a draft resolution
on climate change and human rights that it has
initiated along with Bangladesh mission.
Panellists appreciated the effort, while
stressing their expectation of a more ambitious
position from the Human Rights Council and the
High Commissioner for Human Rights. As churches
and faith based organizations prepare for a
stronger impact at the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change conference COP 17 in
Durban, South Africa from 28 November to 9
December 2011, a â??Call for Action (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f7f1185d446b5bebfb26
)â?? was signed urging â??responsibilities of the
States in the area of climate change, adaptation,
mitigation, technology transfer and fundingâ??
and â??reaffirming the role of faith traditions
to care for the environment and addressing
climate changeâ??. WCC campaign for climate
justice: www.oikoumene.org/climatechange (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=a205fb1238e57cd86238
) Full text of the Call for Action (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=4470f10d719a980ab275
) The World Council of Churches promotes
Christian unity in faith, witness and service for
a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the
WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox,
Anglican and other churches representing more
than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran]
Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.