Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change October 25, 2011
As people of faith, how will we respond?
By Karen Van Loon
March/April 2012
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Introduction
Last year, more than 50 faith leaders representing a diversity of religious traditions and faith-based organizations across Canada united their voices around “the moral imperative to act” on the growing crisis of climate change. Through a collaborative interfaith committee, the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches organized extensive consultations and meetings leading to the development of the Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change. In October the committee launched the call and explored possible actions at an interfaith event in Ottawa. Scarboro Missions along with many others endorsed the call.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister Peter Kent received the interfaith call prior to last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. As well, Canadian faith delegates brought the call to the UN Conference. Three delegates met with Environment Minister Peter Kent in Durban and hope to continue the dialogue. In a related campaign, various faith communities brought petitions to their MPs who presented them in the House of Commons during the UN Conference.
At the Durban Conference, countries reached an overtime deal: the Kyoto Protocol, a legal agreement obliging industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, was weakened but would have a second commitment period after the first expires at the end of 2012. Talks were also launched on a new international agreement with legal force to cover emission reductions from more countries—hopefully to be negotiated by 2015 but not taking effect until 2020. Many consider this to be too late, that deeper emission cuts are needed sooner. Current commitments will not keep the global average temperature rise below 2° Celsius and will leave the world facing too great a risk of dangerous climate change.
After the Durban Conference, Canada filed legal notice of intent to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol (to take effect in December 2012), becoming the only country to pull out of commitments it had ratified under Kyoto. (The next round of international climate change talks is scheduled to begin on November 26, 2012, in Qatar.) The Canadian government continues to give more than one billion dollars per year in subsidies and tax breaks to companies producing fossil fuels.
The Durban Conference is over but the call for leadership and action on climate change grows in urgency for all of us. As people of faith, how will we respond?
Karen Van Loon coordinates Scarboro’s Justice & Peace Office.
Climate change: the spiritual roots of a crisis
1. We, representatives of Canadian faith communities, are united in our conviction that the growing crisis of climate change needs to be met by solutions that draw upon the moral and spiritual resources of the world’s religious traditions. We recognize that at its root the unprecedented human contribution to climate change is symptomatic of a spiritual deficit: excessive self-interest, destructive competition, and greed have given rise to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Humanity’s relationship with the environment has become distorted by actions that compromise the welfare of future generations of life.
2. Our faith traditions and sacred texts call upon us all—individuals, civil society, businesses, industry, and governments—to consider the spiritual dimensions of the crisis of ocean and climate change; to take stock of our collective behaviour; to transform cultures of consumerism and waste into cultures of sustainability; and to respect the balance between economic activity and environmental stewardship. The November 29-December 9, 2011, 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) conference in South Africa has the potential to be a transition point—where we, as a global community, change how we think and act to address climate change.
Values for a sustainable economy
3. The world’s religious traditions teach us to look beyond ourselves—individually and collectively, now and for future generations—as we confront the crisis of ocean and climate change, and to reflect on our choices and decisions. We see people as more than consumers with unlimited appetites. The foundations for a sustainable economy include the values of restraint, cooperation, and reciprocity. We believe we must work together in transforming cultures of self-interest and unprecedented consumption into cultures of justice for all.
4. All religious traditions uphold the nobility of the human spirit, calling on us to seek moderation and service to the common good. Such a vision empowers individuals to take responsibility for relationships with each other and our planet. Indeed, our everyday choices about food, transportation, clothing and entertainment are all practical expressions of what we value. At the same time, disconnections between our professed beliefs and our daily actions indicate our need for personal and collective awareness and transformation. We need to seek coherence between our beliefs and our actions, so that our lives and consumption habits reflect our relationship with the rest of humanity and the Earth itself.
The challenge of climate justice
5. Climate change is a planetary crisis that knows no borders. Some countries are far more adversely affected by climate change than others as they experience major changes in weather patterns. They know the impact of rising seas and erosion of lands, leading to drought or flooding. These countries are most often among the poorest and least equipped to respond.
6. Many countries are suffering from the long-term consequences of unrestrained carbon emissions that damage the atmosphere. We believe all nations need to adopt energy policies that result in actual emission reductions to a fair and safe global level. Organizations, businesses, and individuals have similar duties to reduce their emissions. For high-income nations such as Canada, justice demands that our governments shoulder a greater share of the economic burden of adaptation and mitigation—first and fore-most, because of access to greater means, but also because of an historic role in contributing to its causes. We have a moral imperative to act.
A call for leadership and action
7. We call for leadership to put the long-term interest of humanity and the planet ahead of short-term economic and national concerns. The teachings of our faiths tell us that the best interests of one group or nation are served by pursuing the best interests of all. There is one human family and one Earth that is our common homeland. Climate change is a global crisis and requires global solutions that put the well-being of all people first—especially the most vulnerable. Furthermore, our environment is the natural source of our wealth and the home of millions of species for which we are planetary stewards.
8. In our neighbourhoods and communities, in businesses and organizations, we need to change wasteful patterns of production and consumption. This calls for a cultural transformation that brings the values of sustainability to the forefront of public consciousness—and into more responsible practices. We cannot wait for others to act but instead must lead by example. Religious organizations, public institutions, and businesses all have important roles to play in promoting ethical consumption and more sustainable lifestyles and practices in their everyday operations.
9. We speak respectfully to our political leaders, who have been entrusted with authority by Canadians. We ask that you act with due regard for the values of both religion and science, looking objectively on the problems confronting our planet. Climate science points to a future of greater instability and unpredictability, problems that can be addressed by action today. We stand ready to work alongside you to promote a future of security, prosperity, and justice—for humankind, and the whole of creation.
10. As you carry out your responsibilities at COP 17, we urge you to honour the values we have described and adopt the following policy goals:
- in the spirit of global solidarity, take collective action by signing and implementing a binding international agreement replacing the Kyoto Protocol that commits nations to reduce carbon emissions and set fair and clear targets to ensure that global average temperatures stay below a 2° Celsius increase from pre-industrial levels;
- demonstrate national responsibility by committing to national carbon emission targets and a national renewable energy policy designed to achieve sustainability; and
- implement climate justice, by playing a constructive role in the design of the Green Climate Fund* under United Nations governance, and by contributing public funds to assist the poorest and most affected countries to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
We believe these to be practical and critical measures necessary to secure the well-being of the planet for future generations of life.
* The Green Climate Fund is being established by the United Nations to support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing countries related to climate mitigation and adaptation.
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