As shared in an early blog post, the PC(USA) participated in an Interfaith Talanoa Dialogue just prior to the start of COP27. Today at COP27 the World Council of Churches, a global fellowship of 352 member churches including the PC(USA), held a press release to share the completed text of that document.
The voices of faith communities have been important at COP, often bringing the concrete experiences of the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable people, who have done the least to cause climate change and are facing the brunt of its impacts. Faith groups are often on the front lines, responding to climate change through mitigation, disaster risk reduction, adaptation, and more. More than 100 people of faith, representing a range of faith traditions, countries, ages, and gender share a unified call to the COP27. The full text can be found here. An excerpt is below.
We have a deep concern about the severe state our Mother Earth is in.
We see that scientific information and statements from political leaders have not succeeded in
diverting us from a very dangerous trajectory. Life on earth, as we know it, is in danger. To act against short-termism and economic growth models that do not include the health of the ecosystems we need new narratives. We need to raise the moral obligation to act. The most vulnerable must be protected and those who gained most from human-made greenhouse gas emissions must act responsibly…Our different faiths have narratives that lead us to protect and to love our neighbour. We need faith communities to underpin the great transition we must undertake: A just transition for
climate justice.
We call upon the UNFCCC and FBOs together:
To strengthen trust between Politicians and FBOs to make for fairer representation of
communities on the ground and to come to just solutions.
We call upon the UNFCCC to:
Include Faith Based Organisations in negotiations so that the voices of local communities and
the wisdom of faiths can be taken into account.
We call upon all people of faith to
• Include an ecological perspective in practicing their faith, both in reading scriptures
and in practicing our traditions.
• Educate our faith communities in ecological science that helps all to better
understand the interconnectedness of life.
• Build hope by action on climate justice.
• Stay critical of ‘greenwashing’ projects by listening to those most affected.
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