Religious leaders call on the Commonwealth to get much tougher on climate change

More than 170 religious leaders from all over the world have urged governments from the Commonwealth to “turn words into action” and stop dangerous climate change.

Archbishops, rabbis, and church moderators are among the leaders who have written an open letter, published in The Daily Telegraph this week ahead of a major Commonwealth meeting.

The group states that “not even the remotest corner of the Commonwealth remains unaffected or unthreatened by the impacts of climate change. Commonwealth citizens, especially the poorest, struggle to thrive amidst our changing climate.”

They urge the gathering prime ministers and presidents to be aware of the need for urgent action on the issue and to “pursue every effort to keep the increase in average global temperature below 1.5 degrees.”

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), brings together the 53 leaders from the organisation, and is currently taking place this week in London. The biannual meeting was originally scheduled to take place on the Pacific island of Vanuatu in late 2017, but a fiercely strong cyclone hit the country in 2015 and its infrastructure hasn’t fully recovered.

The letter highlights how climate change is impacting all continents, from African countries struggling to grow crops to rising sea levels in the Pacific and violent, destructive storms in the Caribbean. 

“At the scale of the Commonwealth we can see that the crisis of poverty and the crisis of ecology are one…As a common problem, this crisis requires a common solution. And it is needed now,” it continues.

The call comes at a time when the UK’s own climate change minister, Claire Perry, has asked for a review on strengthening its long-term targets so that they align with the Paris Agreement; a possible sign that increased pressure on government works.

Last month, 22 national science academies from around the Commonwealth released a similar statement ahead of CHOGM which urged for stronger action to prevent runaway global temperatures.

In a separate editorial in The Guardian newspaper, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, called on the Commonwealth to “kickstart a global offensive” on climate change. Ms Ardern, who recently banned new offshore oil and gas licenses in the country, reaffirmed her commitment to New Zealand achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. 

 

Photo Credit: Department for International Development / Rafiqur Rahman Raqu