Christian leaders have joined with those of other faiths in urging Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to change the direction of his government’s climate change police and provide “strong and visionary leadership” to support the “urgent adoption” of green alternatives to the use of fossil fuels.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the faith leaders described the “climate crisis that has been playing out so tragically in the form of massive bushfires this summer” as a “national catastrophe” and noted that Australia was “very vulnerable to climate impacts”.
“Aboriginal Communities in arid areas are at great risk, as are the Torres Strait Islanders from increasingly hostile oceans,” the leaders said in the letter. “Farmers face more extreme droughts and floods. Our concern is also for the tens of millions around the world who are already being displaced annually by other climate-related disasters. There is even worse to come.”
Australian religious leaders attend a press conference at Paddington Uniting Church in Sydney for the release of their letter calling for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take greater action on climate change.From left: Thea Ormerod, president of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Ghaith Krayem, representing the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Bhante Sujato, representing the Buddhist Council of NSW, and Wies Schuiringa, representing the Quakers. PICTURE: Fahimah Badrulhisham.
Noting that Morrison had said he recognised that the “fires have been made much worse by human-induced climate change”, the letter calls upon the Prime Minister and his Coalition colleagues to “unite behind the science”.
“Human ingenuity has developed viable alternatives for each of these destructive practices. What is needed is strong and visionary leadership to support their urgent adoption,” it says.
“We are asking you to have the wisdom, courage and humility to admit that it is time to chart a new course when it comes to climate policy…” they wrote. “It is no longer about balancing the protection of natural resources with economic considerations, but about making life and health the priority of your administration, trusting that this choice will bring economic benefit and a sense of hope and promise to all Australians.”
Some 18 faith leaders have signed the letter which was coordinated by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. Signatories include Christian leaders such as Anglican Rev Dr Peter Catt, dean at St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane, Very Rev Fr Dr Shenouda Mansour, of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s Diocese of Sydney and Affiliated Regions, Catholic Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, chair of the Catholic Bishops Commission on Justice, Mission and Service, Rev Dr Ray Williamson, president of the NSW Ecumenical Council, and Brooke Prentis, CEO of Common Grace.
Other faith leaders to sign the letter include Dr Rateb Jneid, president of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils/Muslims Australia, Rabbi David Kunin, chair of the Moetzah of Australian, New Zealand and Asian Rabbis, Dr Gawaine Powell Davies, president of the Buddhist Council of NSW, and Charlie Hogg, national coordinator of Brahma Kumaris Australia.
Thea Ormerod, president of the ARRCC, said at a press conference to launch the letter the group are calling on the Prime Minister to take the advice of experts and create policies that will transition Australia to a “healthy, fruitful, prosperous economy based on renewable energy and low carbon technologies”.
She said the religious leaders who had signed the letter had resonated with those affected by the bushfire crisis and were now asking the Prime Minister to “have the courage to stand up against vested interests and to actually put in place policies that will reduce our emissions and transition our economy.”
