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Interfaith Perspectives on Climate and
Air
Earth's Climate Embraces
Us All
A Plea from Religion and Science for Action on
Global Climate Change
May 2004
We are people of religious life and people of
science who travel diverse, individual paths in
our search for truth. Over centuries, our communities
have disagreed, sometimes contentiously, about
fundamental questions of human origin, nature,
and purpose.
At this critical moment in history, however, many
of us share a deep conviction that global climate
change presents an unprecedented threat to the
integrity of life on Earth and a challenge to
universal values that bind us as human beings.
Each of our two communities is seeking to contribute
to a better, broader understanding of this issue
and its larger meaning.
Highly regarded institutions in the international
scientific community have reached a broad consensus
on causes and potential consequences of climate
change. Citing "discernable human influence
on global climate," the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that the
current atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide,
the main human-made greenhouse gas affected by
human activity, has not been exceeded during the
past 420,000 years and likely not during the past
20 million years.
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According to
a 2001 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report,
"Climate change simulations for the period
of 1990 to 2100 based on the IPCC emissions scenarios
yield a globally-averaged surface temperature
increase by the end of the century of 1.4 to 5.8
C (2.5 to 10.4F) relative to 1990... Even in
the more conservative scenarios, the models project
temperatures and sea levels that continue to increase
well beyond the end of this century."
Among the predicted consequences of climate change
are more frequent occurrences of heat waves, drought,
torrential rains, and floods; global sea level
rise of between one-half and three feet; increase
of tropical diseases in now-temperate regions;
significant reduction in biodiversity. All these
conditions would seriously affect human health
and well-being. And, according to the IPCC, "the
impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately
upon developing countries and the poor persons
within all countries, and thereby exacerbate inequities
in health status and access to adequate food,
clean water, and other resources."
When "discernable human influence" is
determined to be a cause of destruction, we are
dealing with moral and ethical concerns as well
as scientific and policy issues. For many, these
are shaped by religious conviction.
For example, in Judeo-Christian scripture, all
creation, by God's handicraft, is deemed "good."
Because "the Earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof" (Psalms 24:1), its gifts
are intended for the benefit of all. Humans are
called into covenant with their creator as stewards
of life. In love, we care for the conditions of
one another's well-being; in justice we attend
first to the needs of the most vulnerable. When
significant danger threatens, the traditional
value of prudence requires us to prevent damage
to the common good. All these obligations apply
to the protection of future generations. |
