Watch this video of Emily Wirzba from Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) talking about how the newly-introduced Republican Climate Resolutions started with constituent advocacy- showing the importance and power of advocacy!
Author: quakersandclimate
The People’s Climate March
In May, 200,000 people in Washington D.C and thousands more around the the US participated in a climate march showing their love care and concern for our planet. It was an energetic march full of creativity and diversity, with a strong resounding message to the Trump Administration- ‘WE CARE ABOUT THIS’.
Here are a few of the many inspirational photos from the Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement, who were the largest group of Catholics in the march.
24 Religious Organisations Urge Trump to Remain in Paris Climate Agreement
On June 1st, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. This move abdicates the US’s responsibility from taking urgent climate action to protect our shared home- Earth.
A coalition of 24 religious groups, including the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) sent a letter to the White House and key Administration and Congressional leaders, urging that the US remain a signatory to the Paris Agreement.
In the letter, the religious groups state that “It is in keeping with our deeply held religious values that we write to urge that the United States remains a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and fulfills our commitments under that agreement.”
The letter comes in a timely manner, as the White House is now reviewing the next steps and considering whether to remain in the Agreement.
Read the letter which can be found on the FCNL website.
The Time is Ripe for Governments to Strengthen Sustainable and Food-Secure Farming
QUNO’s Food and Sustainability Programme Representative, Susan Bragdon, has recently published a call-to-action paper “The Time is Ripe for Governments to Strengthen Sustainable and Food-Secure Farming”. The paper calls for the international community to mobilise resources for a more proactive role of the public sector in supporting small-scale farmers, their seed systems and the protection of agricultural biodiversity. Furthermore, the paper urges national governments to engage in consultation with small-scale farmers to identify what they require in order to effectively engage in activities to support the conversation and sustainable use of biodiversity and to achieve secure livelihoods.
Read the full paper by clicking here.
Climate Justice and the use of Human Rights Law
In QUNO’s recent publication “Climate Justice and the use of human rights law in reducing greenhouse emissions”, Lindsey Fielder Cook and David Elliot look at how human rights obligations can help support policies, which lead to more successful and just efforts to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activities. The publication underlies the relationship between human rights and climate change as conceptualized at the United Nations, and explores how human rights can be used to secure greater emissions reductions while also achieving climate justice.
Read the full report by clicking on the link below.
FWCC Sustainability Minute
A copy of the minute on living sustainably and sustaining life on Earth – drafted at the FWCC World Plenary in Pisac, Peru in January 2016.
IRM 16-20. Sustainability. The Consultation on Sustainability, facilitated by Jonathan Woolley (Mexico City MM/Pacific YM; Staff, QUNO-Geneva), Rachel Madenyika (Staff, QUNO-NY), and Charlotte Gordon (Aotearoa/New Zealand YM) have presented a minute for our consideration:
Living Sustainably and Sustaining Life on Earth
The Light of Christ has inspired Quakers throughout the generations. As we gather together in Pisac, Peru in 2016, we feel this light stronger than ever in our calling to care for the Earth on which we live. It is calling us from all traditions: programmed, unprogrammed, liberal, and evangelical. It calls us to preserve this Earth for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations to come, working as though life were to continue for 10,000 years to come. Be ready for action with your robes hitched up and your lamps alight. (Luke 12:35, Revised English Bible)
Read the whole text below. Continue reading “FWCC Sustainability Minute”
Kabarak Call to Peace and Ecojustice
The Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice was approved on 24 April 2012 at the Sixth World Conference Friends, held at Kabarak University near Nakuru, Kenya. It is the culmination of the FWCC World Consultation on Global Change which was held in 2010 and 2011. It is being circulated with the Conference Epistle.
Read the full document by clicking the link below.
Quaker statement on climate change
A “Quaker Statement on Climate Change” has been signed by a large number of Quaker organizations, having been distributed to all Yearly Meetings across the world. The Statement recognizes the personal and collective responsibility to respond to anthropogenic climate change and calls for fair, sufficient and effective international action.
Read the document here: Quaker Statement on Climate Change – March 2016
Fairbanks rally demands climate justice and clean energy
The following press release was submitted by Alaskan Quaker, David Bantz, detailing a rally of concerned voices organised to appeal to citizens, politicians and researchers for action on climate change.
Read the full story below:
FAIRBANKS RALLY DEMANDS CLIMATE JUSTICE AND CLEAN ENERGY
Speakers Call on Alaska’s Elected Leaders for Action
Fairbanks, Alaska—On Tuesday, March 15, the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition (FCAC) hosted a testimonial rally calling for a transition to a clean energy economy. Around 100 people convened in Constitution Park on the UAF Campus to hear a diverse array of speakers from Fairbanks and other parts of Alaska, who stood in front a banner proclaiming, “ALASKANS DEMAND CLIMATE JUSTICE AND CLEAN ENERGY.” The rally was held during the 2016 Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), an international gathering of Arctic scientists and policymakers, held at UAF, to coordinate and collaborate in all areas of Arctic science and policy. The rally, which was held at the center of the ASSW conference area, communicated the diversity of Alaskan voices appealing to citizens, political leaders, and researchers for action on climate change. Speakers specifically called on Alaska’s elected leaders, both statewide and nationally, to transition Alaska to a clean energy economy.
Continue reading “Fairbanks rally demands climate justice and clean energy”
Ireland Yearly Meeting and Sustainability
The following extract is from the document Responding to IYM 2016: Living sustainably and fairly on this earth, a booklet put together to help Meetings develop sustainability plans.
The full text is accessible below.
Responding to IYM 2016 final pdf for web
The 2016 FWCC World Quaker Gathering in Peru called on Yearly Meetings around the world to initiate at least two concrete actions on sustainability by January 2017. Ireland Yearly Meeting responded by agreeing to the following two actions:
- To commit to making all the Meetings within Ireland Yearly Meeting as sustainable as possible, considering such factors as accessibility by public transport, energy efficiency, use of Fairtrade tea and coffee and use of organic and locally sourced food when possible. We ask Meetings to develop a sustainability plan, no matter how simple, before January 2017. We ask IYM to take its sustainability plan into consideration when planning for its next Yearly Meeting.
- To follow in the steps of FWCC by developing an investment strategy, by January 2017, to ethically invest all the funds within the Yearly Meeting in sustainable and peaceful companies, and divest from destructive industries, including fossil fuels.
QUAKERS & CLIMATE CHANGE WORLDWIDE 