Catholics at COP26: Billions of dollars and a bevy of new commitments from countries to move away from fossil fuels represented promising developments during the first week of the United Nations climate summit, say Catholic development agencies here, but just how significant they are will depend on the details. After opening with a series of speeches from world leaders who signaled the urgency of climate change, COP26 shifted to negotiations, where delegates from nearly 200 countries discussed how to meet their shared commitment under the Paris Agreement to hold global warming to a level that would avoid its most devastating impacts. Read the Catholic response to the first week of COP26
Pope Francis told the COP26 Conference – through Cardinal Parolin – “As the Glasgow Conference begins, all of us are aware that it has the vital task of demonstrating to the entire international community whether there really exists a political will to devote – with honesty, responsibility and courage – greater human, financial and technological resources to mitigating the negative effects of climate change and assisting the poorer and more vulnerable nations most affected by it,” Francis wrote in a message addressed to Alok Sharma, president of the U.N. climate conference known as COP26, which began Oct. 31. Read more about the message of Pope Francis
The Letter to the President of COP26 about the Plant Based Treaty: Over 100 interfaith leaders including Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, and Rev. Shad Groverland, Executive Director of Unity Worldwide Ministries, as well as dozens of faith based organizations issued a strong message to COP26 delegates today, urging them to adopt the Plant Based Treaty as a companion to the Paris Agreement.
The open letter also urges delegates to the Glasgow Climate Change conference to endorse veganism as an important approach to averting a climate catastrophe. Given the plethora of delicious vegan options available today, adopting a vegan diet is easier than ever before. Emeritus Professor and President Emeritus of Jewish Veg Richard Schwartz coordinated the open letter initiative with Lisa Levinson, co-founder of In Defense of Animals’ Interfaith Vegan Coalition Read the Letter
Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation presented one Press Conference on Climate Ambition Into ICT Industry ActionInformation and communication technologies have a critical role to play in combating climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The increased use of ICTs is undoubtedly part of the cause of global warming, as witness the hundreds of millions of computers and more than one billion television sets that are never fully turned off at night in homes and in offices. But ICTs can also be a key part of the solution, because of the role they play in monitoring, mitigating and adapting to climate change. Watch the Press Conference
The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development on Food and Water Insecurity: Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food quality. For example, projected increases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural productivity. The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development hosted a Press Conference on Food and Water Insecurity. You may read more and watch the press conference on Food and Water Insecurity
The Talanoa Dialogues – which took place at the Garnethill Synagogue – has been updated with a short narrative from this event, and many photographs. Go to the Talanoa Dialogues.
Several photographs have been added to the Interfaith Vigil in George Square
Seven Days Exhibition: The Soul Marks Trust funds an artist-in-residence at Glasgow University. Participating in Scottish Interfaith Week, the Artist in Residence has curated a seven days exhibition telling of the seven days of creation. 7 DAYS aims to cause us to reflect on the gift of creation. Our role and our place in it, what past and present effects our actions or inactions have caused, and the choices we now make in caring for and repairing it. Go to the seven days exhibition, part of Scottish Interfaith Week.
Quakers in Britain took part in Saturday’s Climate March. The article Quakers in Britain: Why we’re calling for polluters to pay for the damage they cause is updated with photographs from the march.
Faiths for the Climate give an update. Citing: Today, Day 5 of COP26, Graham Usher, the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment, publicly confessed that he was feeling “discombobulated” by the amount of sheer stuff happening. That’s pretty much what it is, there are so many tracks to follow at COP26. Here, in this update you will realise that there are also so many interfaith tracks to follow. Read the update from Faiths for the Climate.
Faith and spiritual leaders yesterday formally called on politicians and negotiators at COP26 to step up to the plate and deliver on pledges made at Paris in 2015 as well as prioritise the transition to a just and green economy. The call came in a moving hand-in ceremony of the Glasgow Multi-Faith Declaration for COP26 to the UNFCCC Executive held at St George’s Tron Church. Signatories – representing a wide range of faiths and traditions, and including the Brahma Kumaris – highlighted the commitment to a temperature rise of no more than 1.5C and to a provision in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights protecting the environment, biosphere and biodiversity. Read more here
Co-operation across sectors and borders has been in the spotlight at COP26 this week, with a flurry of new alliances and coalitions among coal-producing and consuming countries, financial institutions, philanthropists and others to forward the climate action agenda – if only by voluntary agreements.And “India One”, inaugurated by the World Renewal Spiritual Trust and the Brahma Kumaris at the BKs’ headquarters in Rajasthan in 2017, was held up as a shining example of co-operation between faith groups and scientists in the field of renewable energy. Read more here
FaithInvest CEO Martin Palmer has been asked to provide BBC Radio Four’s Prayer for the Day during the UN climate conference, COP26. The two-minute prayer and reflection is broadcast each weekday morning at 5.43am, and the BBC wanted prayers from six different faiths that reflected their relationship with the natural world. The prayers will be broadcast during the second half of the COP, beginning on Saturday November 6. Read more here
Christians and Muslims walk together for the Environment in Zimbabwe
