Faith leaders representing nine religions and hailing from 21 countries gathered in New York City on Sept. 21 and 22 to call for action on climate change.
“We recognize that climate change stands today as a major obstacle to the eradication of poverty,” they said in a signed statement in which they called for world leaders to work toward a binding agreement at the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris. “Severe weather events exacerbate hunger, cause economic insecurity, force displacement and prevent sustainable development. The climate crisis is about the survival of humanity on planet earth, and action must reflect these facts with urgency.”
The document was the focal point of an interfaith conference jointly hosted by the World Council of Churches, a body that includes 350 churches worldwide including the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and Religions for Peace, an interfaith coalition with members in more than 70 countries.
Among the signatories was Rev. Tafue Lusama, general secretary of the Ekalesia Kelisiano in Tuvalu, a nation composed of reef islands and atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. The islands are threatened by rising sea levels. Salt water is already intruding into the fresh water tables upon which Tuvaluans depend, he said.
“For my church, this means life, because our very existence is challenged,” he said. “And anything that challenges the livelihood and life continuity of a people is a mission from God to us as believers.”
“Ours is to campaign for industrialized nations to put money where their mouth is because we believe they do have the resources, the financial resources and the technology, to deal with this issue,” said Rev. Suzanna Matale, general secretary of the Council of Churches in Zambia. “But they’re very slow to respond.”
Zambia emits about 2,500 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide a year, or about 0.18 tonnes per capita. In comparison, Canada emits almost 500,000 kilotonnes or about 14.7 tonnes per capita, one of the highest rates in the world.
“Panic, fear, economics, those are not really ways to motivate the human spirit to change,” said Rev. Dr. Rick Fee, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church’s Life and Mission Agency and chair of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. He attended both the UN climate summit on Sept. 23 and the faith leaders’ summit that preceded it. “I think it’s only through faith that people will recognize their responsibility to change their lifestyle. And we do have to change our lifestyle.”
The symbol of Noah’s ark has been used frequently by faith communities to express concern about climate change, including as a float in a march that drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of New York on Sept. 21.
In an address to faith leaders, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, asked them to help her maintain “the ark of faith” and the “ark of love” as the world moves toward the 2015 meeting in Paris.
“We’re going to have lots of ups and downs,” she said. “And we cannot afford to let the downs bring us down.”
In the face of the crisis affecting the world, it is imperative for people of faith to speak out in hope, becoming a moral voice that goes “to our deepest convictions and commitments as human beings,” said WCC head, Olav Fykse Tveit. “I say it is immoral to not speak of hope in this time.”
