Federal government support for the Adani Group’s proposed Carmichael coalmine is the target of an open letter released today, signed by prominent leaders from Australia’s faith communities, including Uniting Church, Buddhists, Quakers and Catholic.
Dear Minister Frydenberg
As leaders in our diverse faith traditions, we feel compelled to challenge those responsible for Australia’s current climate and energy policies. In particular, we declare the proposal to provide public money to fund mining infrastructure in the Galilee Basin to be morally wrong.
A trail-blazing seminar on Islam and Environmental Stewardship: A Call for Action, was held in Brisbane on Sunday, 21st February, 2017.
This was an initiative of a small group from the Brisbane Muslim community who felt the need to start a conversation—and potential future action—on the view of our faith on issues of climate change that are impacting our environment and the need to highlight our God-given role as stewards on earth.
Humankind stands at the edge of the abyss and yet we inch forward. Neither government policies nor people’s collective behaviour reflect the real and present danger facing us today. The temperature rise we are witnessing is not the beginning of a gradual, linear increase, but an early stage on what is basically an exponential curve.[i] Furthermore, we know there are tipping points at which abrupt drastic change is precipitated.[ii] We just don’t know how soon those tipping points will be reached.
Please sign here.
Faith-based organisations working on climate change joined forces in 2017 to challenge Australia’s weak climate policies. Dozens of ARRCC supporters energetically got behind this, as did supporters of Caritas, Common Grace, TEAR, the Uniting Church, Catholic Earthcare and the Pacific Calling Partnership. People of faith worked together in their own electorates and gathered altogether over 30,000 signatures, on paper, across 110 electorates. In 2017, 46 MP's were visited by people of faith, and 30 of these agreed to make a speech in Parliament about the petition. By Christmas, 11 of the MP's followed through with Parliamentary speeches.
It's not too late to add your voice.
Media event on September 6th
Historically, this is make-or-break time for putting some brakes on global warming, so here at ARRCC we’re rolling our sleeves up. Will you join us?
We bring together diverse people of faith to publicly collaborate on climate change as a moral issue, thus challenging the 70% or so of Australians who identify with a spiritual/faith tradition. Imagine if we could catalyse even a minority of this massive constituency to more fully swing behind protecting the earth! This is what we plan to do in 2017, but we can't do it without your help. Please think about making a donation of $50, $100, $250 or whatever you can.
Are you interested in fossil fuel divestment but unclear on implementation? Your Board is unconvinced? How about an expert Guide which takes you through the whole process?
A joint project of ARRCC and The Climate Institute, the Guide was launched on the same day as the release of the Global Divest Invest Movement 2016 report - December 12, 2016.
Media Release, 11 November, 2016
Faith Leaders Challenge Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds: Sever Trillions in Fossil Fuel Investments
Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu among top religious leaders to declare continued use of fossil fuels ethically untenable
Australian faith leaders join call for urgent action
Sydney, November 11 — Leaders from global faith groups, financial institutions and foundations called on sovereign wealth and superannuation funds to rapidly end trillions in investments related to fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy in line with the Paris Agreement.
We invite all people of faith and goodwill to sign the COP22 Interfaith Climate Statement
We all desire for a safer future, free from climate change. Confronting this crisis is the great moral imperative of our time. It requires urgent, transformative action to slow (and hopefully reverse) the acceleration of global warming that is now underway. People of faith and goodwill have an important role to play in showing the way forward on this moral imperative. Faiths also play an important role in as we grieve our losses and practice hope. Together, we can make a difference!
Please join in:
- adding your name to the COP22 Interfaith Climate Statement that will be presented to the international climate change talks in Marrakech in November.
- spreading the word about the Statement and asking others to sign it.
Social media campaign
Wish you were in Marrakech, Morocco, outside the COP22 climate negotiations? Want your voice heard? Be part of a global campaign to impress on negotiators that the world must act at emergency speed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are attuned to what is happening on social media, so this campaign is convey the voices of ordinary people who want to see action escalated.
Members and friends of ARRCC turned out for the snap rally in Canberra on Friday, August 19th, in front of COAG’s Energy Council meeting. We were calling for urgent shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Well over 100 people came from diverse community groups.
