Australian Christian leaders are among more than 150 faith leaders who have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for him to make “addressing the problem of climate change your number one priority”.
Organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, the letter – which was launched at an event at Paddington Uniting Church in Sydney today – describes the situation with regard to climate as “much more than a political or even a scientific issue”, saying it is “a profoundly moral one”.
Left to right: Spokespeople Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, Thea Ormerod, president of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Dr Gawaine Powell-Davies, president of Buddhist Council of NSW, Imam Ahmed Abdo, secretary of Council of Imams of NSW and Sister Libby Rogerson, of the Loreto Sisters. PICTURE: Clayton John/Courtesy of the ARRCC.
They urge the Prime Minister to agree to stop the proposed Adani coal mine in Queenland’s Galilee Basin, to commit to no new coal or gas projects in Australia, and to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by the year 2030.
“We understand this will be challenging,” the letter says. “To start with, the people who live in those communities where employment would be affected clearly need good reliable jobs. Yet a courageous leader would come up with a jobs plan based on renewable energy instead of coal, an industry with an uncertain future which is now threatening our very survival.”
Among the signatories are Anglican Bishop Phillip Huggins, president of National Council of Churches in Australia, Dr Deidre Palmer, president of the Uniting Church in Australia as well as leaders of Catholic and Baptist churches. Other faith leaders who have signed include Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, Cecilia Mitra, president of the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, and Rabbi David Kunin, chair of the Moetzah of Australian, New Zealand and Asian Rabbis.
Thea Ormerod, president of ARRCC and another signatory of the letter, said Australia was facing an “unprecedented climate crisis”, adding that stopping new fossil fuel projects like the Adani mine was a “moral imperative”.
“Australia is the largest exporter of both coal and gas globally and one of the largest per capita polluters,” she said in a statement. “We have an urgent duty to change this, and protect all life on earth.”
Ormerod said faith leaders were so concerned about this “moral challenge” that they have come out in “unprecedented numbers to call for climate action”.
“Some are even willing to face arrest to stop the Adani mine.”
