Climate change—a moral and spiritual challenge facing the world
The 21st century presents us all with the unprecedented challenge of climate change. Millions face starvation through the loss of natural resources; millions will be forced into migration. Many world leaders, including Maurice Strong who globalized the environmental movement, former US Vice-President Al Gore, his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rajendra Pachauri and the Indian economist Nitin Desai, Under Secretary-General of the UN, have described the climate crisis as a moral and spiritual challenge facing humanity. Every initiative to mitigate the worst effects of climate change will be needed. Everybody will be affected; everybody will play a part in the task of saving the planet for future generations. Climate change demands the imagination, resourcefulness and unselfishness of each one of us. Here we list stories, convictions and comments, aimed at tackling one of the world’s most pressing issues.
Read articles by Geoffrey Lean, the British award-winning pioneer of environmental journalism by clicking here. Read his blogs by clicking here.
Join the 10:10 campaign here to see how to cut your carbon emissions by 10 per cent in 2010 by clicking here.
Join the 350 Campaign here. This campaign focuses on building the political will to commit to the 350ppm (parts per million) atmospheric CO2 target. 350ppm is the safe upper limit of CO2, and represents the ethical line that has been drawn, and around which political will needs to be built. 350 Campaign coordinator Rishab Kanna was a convenor for the Caux 2009 conference on Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy, held in Caux, Switzerland in July.
Click here to read about Operation Noah, the ‘science informed, faith motivated, hope driven’ Christian campaign focussing exclusively on climate change. This is founded by the Christian Ecology Link (CEL) and the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
The Food and Sustainability Network of Initiatives of Change was formed after the conference on ‘Between Surplus and Famine – Food: a crossroads for Peace’, which took place in Castel San Pietro, Italy. The network connects people around the world to promote just and sustainable strategies for food production, water use, health, the soil and the environment.
The Caux Forum for Human Security brings together 'grassroots' activists and leaders from governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations to address the ‘root causes’ of human insecurity under four broad interconnected themes: Economics, Climate Change, Good Governance, and intercultural dialogue.