Skip to content

QUAKERS & CLIMATE CHANGE WORLDWIDE

A portal for Quaker climate action across the globe

  • Welcome
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

Category: National Political Engagement

Friends support Moorland Restoration Project in Switzerland

National Political Engagement, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community

Foto showing the Gross Moss habitat at 1250m altitude. One of the former drainage trenches runs through the picture. Draining the water from the moor by this and other trenches has been blocked through numerous man-made dams perpendicular to the canal (visible in the foto). The resulting water filled basins will “spawn” regrowth of moss plants and, overall, the slow restoration of the moor.

A group of Friends in Zurich, Switzerland have recently become involved in sponsoring a local renaturation project. The group is currently making regular small contributions to the Swiss NGO Myclimate, which is working to restore highland moors in the east of Switzerland. These big marshlands have a major carbon storage potential, which goes untapped unless the moor is “rewetted” following peat extraction or agricultural usage. Myclimate and other NGOs have been gathering financial backing so that this restoration project can take place.

A member of the group, Thomas Gorr, is also involved in his capacity as a biologist, mapping the progress of renaturation through regular visits of the area and by protocoling the ensuing changes in the plant cover and the inhabiting pool of animal species. Thomas writes that by “renaturing (rewetting) moors both a highly effective carbon fixation is fostered and the biodiversity of very rare specialist species (plants and animals alike) will also benefit. In contrast, dried moors (the state moors are usually in across countries of central Europe), act more as a carbon source than as carbon sequestration habitat.”

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 quakersandclimateLeave a comment

Victoria, Australia: Climate Action & Earthcare Network

General Resources, National Political Engagement

Friends from Victoria, Australia have been in touch to let us know about a newly launched climate network. The VRM Climate Action & Earthcare Network is part of the Victoria Regional Meeting of Friends. The Regional Meeting has about 330 members and attenders and is largely based in metropolitan Melbourne but with small meetings in regional areas.  

Gerry Fahey, Co-Convenor of the VRM Climate Action and Earthcare Network wrote to let us know that the Network are taking part in the Greenfaith Sacred People, Sacred Earth campaign action. Greenfaith have organised an international statement that includes 10 demands calling for climate justice. This will be complemented by a day of local actions happening on 11th March 2021. Fahey commented, “The statement is strong and calls on governments and business to work towards real changes.  It is at the core of a year on action in 2021 leading up to the COP26.”

To sign on to the statement, please click here.

February 5, 2021February 9, 2021 quakersandclimate1 Comment

From the Ground Up Gathering 2020

National Political Engagement, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community

British Quaker Amanda Woolley, member of Totnes Meeting in Devon, shares her experience of attending an online global gathering for Climate Justice, organised by the civil society COP26 Coalition.

“As COP 26 in Glasgow had been postponed till next year,  grassroots social justice and environmental  organisations – which would otherwise have been there to lobby and campaign – instead took this time together to build solidarity and experience.  

This international conference-from-home wove itself into the fabric of  daily life, set amongst the backdrop of nature on my own doorstep and a timely thread from  a Devon Quaker Area Meeting  session reflecting on  ways we respond to the politics of our times.”   

View some of the workshops mentioned at  https://www.facebook.com/cop26coalition/videos

To read Amanda’s full reflections, please click here.
January 28, 2021February 4, 2021 quakersandclimateLeave a comment
Green Light, Northumberland: Greening the Post-Covid Economy

Green Light, Northumberland: Greening the Post-Covid Economy

National Political Engagement

‘First, make climate change personal in your own life; second, get angry and get active;  and third, and perhaps this is most important, imagine the world we want to hurry towards.’  – Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; former UN Commissioner for Human Rights; Climate Champion

Friend Rosemary Hartill tells the story of how members of her book group launched a climate action group in a rural area of north-east England. The group, called  Green Light,  contributed a submission in October to the UK Parliament’s  Environmental Audit Select Committee. The Committee had requested  submissions from the public on Greening the Post-Covid Economy. The submission can be accessed here.


“For some years now, two bookgroups have been running out of a large and famous second-hand  bookshop, Barter Books,  in Alnwick, a  small town in rural Northumberland in the north-east of England. They are facilitated by me, a Quaker and a former BBC religious affairs correspondent and independent broadcaster. Our backgrounds include pig farming,  teaching, project management, science, the priesthood, making music, fund raising for charities, public administration and bookselling.

   Normally over the summer, the bookgroups have a break. But with so much restricted because of the pandemic, we decided to continue on Zoom, and take time out from our usual themes – and there have been some great ones –  to tackle something more pressing: the fate of our planet.

   We discovered that a series of talks was taking place online with some of the big names in the climate world and launched by Sir David Attenborough under the wing of UK Government advisors, the Climate Change Committee. They had brought together 100 plus people from different walks of life, ages and ethnicities to form a UK Climate Assembly to listen, learn and create a report for Parliament. These talks were put online for anyone to study (www.climateassembly.uk/).

    This was a remarkable opportunity to get our heads round some of those worrying facts we were reading about. We were beginning to realise we could no longer accept “business as usual” in our own lives or in the global community and that we can’t sit on the fence.

     We agreed a name, Green Light, for those of us who wanted to follow the course, and began in mid-July. After 6 weeks of online discussions and background reading we felt deeply concerned, even appalled, at the gap between the annual recommendations to the UK government made by the Committee on Climate Change and the actual performance of government departments; and also the inadequate collaborative working with regional and local communities. People in our group have in the past supported at least 4 different political parties, yet we were united on this.  We felt positive and ready for action. But what sort of action could we take?  Mary Robinson’s advice came into play.

    First, we each made a list of all the things we could each do in our own lives. For instance:  halve our intake of meat and dairy; choose an electric car and use it less; support public transport; insulate our homes better, move to an air-source heating pump; drive only up to 55 mph; change our bank to one that makes non fossil-fuel investments; turn down the thermostat on the central heating and other things.

   Next, get angry and get active. We would gather information, work with partners – school, artists, business, politicians, faith groups etc – to support local initiatives. Then along came an interesting opportunity to do a little bit more, based on our own experience: one of the key Government Select Committees (where the action takes place off-stage from the House of Commons), the Environmental Audit Committee had called for evidence from the public on Greening the Post-Covid 19 Recovery. There were 6 questions which prompted responses about all the themes we had been studying – housing and the home, transport, energy use, food, farming and land and climate justice.

  We wrote to make a local voice heard. The submission shared our experience of how things feel, and are, at the local  level and  the frustrations encountered. And it highlighted stories that  gave an early exciting imaginative glimpse of the world we want to hurry towards.”

November 30, 2020December 3, 2020 quakersandclimate1 Comment

Friends Fiduciary Corporation Divests from Fossil Fuel

National Political Engagement, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community

The United States-based Friends Fiduciary Corporation is a Quaker not-for-profit which provides socially responsible investment management for Friends meetings, schools and organizations and recently it announced it will divest from fossil fuel industries. In place of fossil portfolios, Friends Fiduciary will rigorously focus on companies leading the transition to a low carbon economy like clean technology, renewable energy and energy and energy conservation, clean water protection, environmental finance, and low carbon commerce.

August 4, 2020 quakersandclimateLeave a comment

The Environmental Impacts of the UK Military

General Resources, National Political Engagement

Scientists for Global Responsibility and Declassified UK have published a report which assesses the key environmental impacts of the UK military, arms industry and related sectors. It provides a detailed assessment of UK military greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – arguably, more in-depth than previously provided in a report in the public domain. It also gives an overview of other related environmental issues, especially those of particular concern, such as impacts resulting from weapons-use, the management of military nuclear waste, and the environmental impacts should nuclear weapons ever be used in war.

June 5, 2020 quakersandclimateLeave a comment

Climate Change, Energy Transitions, and COVID-19 Lessons

General Resources, National Political Engagement

George Rhee, Associate Director NASA Spacegrant Nevada and Physics and Astronomy Professor at University of Nevada Las Vegas and with childhood connections with Geneva Monthly Meeting, has shared a brief video exploring the parallels between responses to climate change and COVID-19, the roles we have in our local communities, and what it would take to transition away from fossil fuels. Rhee has also devised a calculator to assist in what energy transitions might look like.

April 17, 2020April 22, 2020 quakersandclimate1 Comment

Endless Wars, Endless Environmental Harm

National Political Engagement

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has shared powerful research into the connection between climate change and the United States military. FCNL states that “A militaristic lens to climate solutions is not the answer. If the U.S. wants to sincerely address the climate crisis, solutions must be based in humanitarianism and diplomacy, not a larger military footprint.” FCNL also recommends particular actions American citizens can undertake to counter the varied militarized dimensions of climate change and climate action.

March 9, 2020 quakersandclimateLeave a comment

Interfaith Draft of Carbon Pricing Principles

General Resources, National Political Engagement

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has joined an interfaith coalition to draft a set of principles regarding the possible implementation of carbon pricing. These principles, which aim to assist policy makers when drafting carbon pricing mechanisms, focus on stewardship, sustainability, dialogue, and justice and human dignity. More information about carbon pricing, and FCNL’s particular work on it, can be found here.

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020 quakersandclimateLeave a comment

An Unexpected Silence: Quaker Moments at Extinction Rebellion

National Political Engagement, Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide

Friend Brian Wardrop shares thoughts regarding his participation at an extinction rebellion protest in the attached article and elaborates on how Chelmsford Local Meeting engages with Extinction Rebellion;

“We are members of Chelmsford Local Meeting in Essex. Extinction Rebellion Chelmsford (XRC) was formed in February 2019. Several activist Friends in our Meeting joined the movement and, after discussion, Chelmsford Meeting agreed to support them and XRC.

Chelmsford Meeting provides premises for XRC events, as well as for XR Quaker groups passing through that need accommodation, such as a group of Quakers from Norwich cycling to London to join the April Rebellion.

Because Jean and I live so close to London, and are now retired, we have been able to lend our support to actions such as The Time is Now lobby of MPs, and events during the October Rebellion, such as the XR Grandparents rally outside Buckingham Palace.“

enough-is-enoughDownload
February 25, 2020 quakersandclimate1 Comment

Posts navigation

Older posts

Categories

  • General Resources
  • International Political Engagement
  • National Political Engagement
  • Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide
  • Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community

Stay informed

Sign up for our future updates

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
QUAKERS & CLIMATE CHANGE WORLDWIDE
Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
  • Follow Following
    • QUAKERS & CLIMATE CHANGE WORLDWIDE
    • Join 25 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • QUAKERS & CLIMATE CHANGE WORLDWIDE
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...