By Avrel Seale
Anyone who still believes that religious people and environmentalists must be on opposite sides of green issues like climate change needs to get out more, perhaps to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple.
You could find plenty of examples of religious folk through history acting in ways we wouldn’t consider green. But stewardship of creation has been part of theological and intellectual dialogue in the West at least since St. Francis of Assisi some 800 years ago started saying things like, “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” And, “Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.” (Canticle of the Sun, A.D. 1224)
There is a large and influential population that embraces both religion and science and grasps the obvious: that if you believe the world was created by God, then it probably would be a good idea to take care of it (or at least not actively ruin it). A 2004 Pew study found that by a two-to-one margin (55 percent to 27 percent) religious respondents backed strong regulations to protect the environment. “Backing for the environment cuts across virtually every religious group, from white Evangelicals to Jews, and has remained strong through the last few presidential election cycles,” Pew reported.
Moreover, another Pew study in 2007 showed that an overwhelming majority of religious people polled (79 percent) believes there is solid evidence that the average temperature of the Earth has been increasing over the past few decades. “Sizable majorities of each of the largest religious groups agree: 77 percent of Catholics; 79 percent of white mainline Protestants; and 70 percent of white evangelicals.”
Back in April, we wrote about how religious leaders in the United States are stepping up to the climate change challenge.
Now the United Nations is tapping the persuasive power of religion. Some 200 leaders representing the world’s major religions gathered Nov. 3, 2009, at Windsor Castle to launch a series of action plans on the environment. They were joined by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prince Philip. “I have long believed that when governments and civil society work toward a common goal, transformational change is possible,” said Ban. “Faiths and religions are a central part of that equation. Indeed, the world’s faith communities occupy a unique position in discussions on the fate of our planet and the accelerating impacts of climate change.”
The three-day event was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), which Prince Philip founded in 1995.
Thirty-one leaders — representing the Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, and Sikhism — presented seven-year plans designed to promote “generational change” in attitudes toward the environment in the face of global warming, water shortages, deforestation, and other threats.
The Muslim plan establishes Muslim Associations for Climate Change Action (MACCA) and calls for an Islamic environmental labeling system, a “Green Hajj” so that within 10 years the traditional Islamic pilgrimage will be recognized as environmentally friendly, and the construction of a model “green mosque” to showcase best practices in heating, light, and design.
The Sikh plan urges all Sikh temples, gurdwaras, to recycle, compost, use green energy, use eco-stoves, start rainwater harvesting, and purchase reusable plates and cups.
Baha’is will use an existing system of regional training institutes to encourage “acts of service related to environmental sustainability” within their worldwide community. “Baha’is believe that religious belief and spirituality lie at the foundation of human motivation and behavior,” said Tahirih Naylor, a Baha’i representative to the United Nations. “We believe that efforts to change harmful human behavior – such as those actions that contribute to global warming or environmental degradation – can be greatly facilitated by processes that lead to a better understanding of our own relationship to God, and of humanity’s relationship with nature.”
“Climate change is complex, and dealing with it requires us to change at many levels,” said Olav Kjorven, assistant secretary general of the United Nations and director of the Bureau of Development Policy at the U.N. Development Program. “It requires a change of ethos. Religions have an unparalleled ability to reach out to people at the grassroots and to touch hearts and minds.” What’s more, he called religious institutions “the third-largest actors in international markets,” adding that just promoting environmentally friendly purchasing decisions by those institutions would have a huge impact across the world.
Tony Juniper, special adviser to the Prince of Wales’ Rainforests Project and former executive director of the Friends of the Earth, likewise emphasized the important role that religions can play. “Purely scientific rationalism cannot change our fundamental understanding of who we are and how we should live. Religion and science must work together to bring about a fundamental transformation in our relationship to the world. This kind of change needs a spiritual foundation,” he said.
After returning from the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, Green Detectives Valerie Davis and Kevin Tuerff both talked about how organized religion was a missing link in the negotiations for a global climate treaty. Watch this blog for more on this issue.
No matter what you believe or whether you believe, everyone who feels environmental action is important should be greatly heartened by these reports. Can I get an Amen?
Overview
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just 
Two days after Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced at climate talks $350 million over the next five years to promote clean energy technologies in developing countries, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today from Copenhagen $1 billion over the next three years to reduce carbon emissions caused by deforestation.
The U.S. Climate Delegation may have its challenges in the Plenary Hall here at the Bella Center, but the US Center next door to the delegation offices wins in my book on coolest place to catch your breath — and learn. Dangling from the ceiling is NOAA’s illuminated “Science on a Sphere,” illustrating climate modeling just about any way you can slice a data set.
Yes, in my opinion, the US Center even outdoes the posh “Global Platform — Multiple Solutions” lounge offered by Climate Consortium Denmark. Its black-and-white globe has become iconic over the past two weeks as a backdrop for media interviews with climate negotiators. The lounge has Denmark’s sleek design, but not quite the innovation of the US Center’s crown jewel from NOAA and NASA. Technology transfer anyone?
