In October 2018, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report on Global Warming of 1.5˚C, which is predicted by 2030-2052 which is predicted by 2030-2052. This warming will cause sea level rise, drought, and other effects that will have impacts on people worldwide. The effects will be even more severe if there is global warming of 2˚C. There is an urgent need to curb anthropogenic emissions that are causing these long-lasting effects on the earth’s climate system.
Local faith communities are already heavily impacted by climate change. They are also increasingly involved in the action on climate change, bringing religious motivations to understandings of stewardship and care for our planet. Faith-based NGOs are working to mitigate climate change, help climate change adaptation in communities, and mobilize and faith communities towards advocacy for change, as well as implementing climate-sensitive ways of operating in their humanitarian and development operations. Yet much remains to be done in the humanitarian and development fields where climate is frequently acknowledged as one of the most pressing issues of our time but little has changed from the status quo.
JLI is an international collaboration committed to convening academics, practitioners, and policymakers to examine the research and evidence on the role of religion in humanitarian and development aid. In the past year, many members have asked us to consider topics such as climate change, climate justice, the environment, and ecology as future interests for a possible Learning Hub.
We recognize that there is already a lot of work and research in the area of faith and climate. We will focus on the specific intersections of climate, faith-based international humanitarian and development work, and a focus on research and evidence.
Webinar Series
In order to gauge interest among our wider membership and start the process of considering what research already exists in this area, we will convene a webinar series on faith and climate. The webinar series will be structured around practice, policy, and academia.
The four-part webinar series on Climate.
Tues, April 23: Faith-based climate programs and practice examples. View Webinar
World Council of Churches invites congregations, communities, and churches to discuss the following five-step programme to change the way we deal with the economy and our ecological surroundings.
The following steps are a kind of roadmap relating to a variety of issues. It is not necessary to agree on all points. Discussing them is already an important part of the pilgrimage. Our goal is to strive for conscious, just, and sustainable ways of living for the wellbeing of our communities and our only planetary home.
An Introduction to Climate Resilience curriculum syllabus that ERD designed for their partner and peer agencies’ 2018 workshop on Climate Resilience.
The following readings and video clips were part of a pre-workshop assignment schedule to introduce a group of development practitioners to the foundations of climate change in the lead up to a face-to-face workshop on Climate Resilience. Over the course of four months, participants completed the biweekly sessions individually and shared their reflections and responses to other participants reflections on a social media learning platform. The conversation also took place via five conference calls to discuss topics more in depth.
Episcopal Relief and Development with their partners use Six Climate Resilience Participatory Learning & Action Tools with communities:
1. Transect Walk – Resource attached
The Transect Walk is a group exercise that entails walking between two points to intentionally cross or transect a community. The group explores environmental and social resources, conditions and systems by observing, asking, listening, looking and producing a transect diagram. Specific information may be collected to reveal land use practices, hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities to inform disaster mitigation and preparation plans and longer term climate resilience plans
The Seasonal Calendar is a group exercise that helps people explore and understand how ecological, social, and economic aspects of their lives and wellbeing change throughout the year. Specific variables can be used to help people explore agro-ecological and climatic variations that may better inform their own planning, decision-making and risk mitigation and disaster preparedness initiatives.
The Power Walk is a group exercise that facilitates participants to “walk” in someone else’s shoes and experience what it feels like to be powerless or powerful based on gender, occupation, education level, disability, age, health etc. and in the face of different obstacles or shocks.
The Wellbeing Map is a group exercise that reveals people’s perceptions of what constitutes or depicts wellbeing. Specific wellbeing characteristics can be explored to categorize resilient households or disaster-prepared households and communities.
The Historical Timeline is a group exercise that chronologically lists people’s recollection of key events and changes in the history of their community.
The People’s Map is a group exercise that guides people through a pictorial recognition of the physical, natural, social, livelihood, economic and spiritual assets within their community.
The Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale is an international multi-religious project. With its conferences, publications, and website, it is engaged in exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to broaden understanding of the complex nature of current environmental concerns. The Forum recognizes that religions need to be in dialogue with other disciplines (e.g., science, economics, policy, gender studies) in seeking comprehensive solutions to both global and local environmental problems.
Yale Faith and Climate Webinar Series
The Security and Sustainability Forum will hold a Faith and Climate Webinar Series in partnership with the Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR).
The forum held two webinars in the series will address (1) The youth climate lawsuit, Juliana vs. the U.S. and (2) The Pope’s second encyclical on care for the planet.
Webinar 1: Juliana vs the United States
(The Youth Climate Suit)
June 4, 2019 The first webinar in the Faith and Climate Webinar Series with the Parliament of the World’s Religions will begin with faith-based perspectives supporting the plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, the youth climate suit. The webinar will be moderated by David Hales, President Emeritus of College of the Atlantic and Chair of Climate Action for the Parliament. It will feature the Parliament’s lead counsel in its amicus curiae filing, Howard Learner of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
Webinar 2: The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’
June 14, 2019
The second webinar in the Faith and Climate Webinar Series will be a discussion with Fr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, author of The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si’. This is about Pope Frances’ second encyclical, “On Care for Our Common Home,” which asks “every person living on this planet” to begin a dialogue about the future of our world. Watch on Vimeo
THE OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF CLIMATE RISK INSURANCE FOR THE PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
In autumn 2015, the international community drew up 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These were followed by National Action Plans established at the national level to ensure the goals could be achieved by 2030. However, climate change now stands in the path of achieving the SDGs and will specifically affect the poorest populations in the countries that are most at risk from climate change. Although extreme weather events such as tropical storms, droughts and floods threaten these people’s harvests, income and livelihoods, climate risk insurance can help to reduce their vulnerability. In the event of a disaster, insurance can quickly provide funds to help the injured parties deal with their situation as well as to bolster emergency responses and strengthen social protection systems.
The world is at crossroads. Awareness is growing rapidly that overshooting the aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement (PA) to limit global warming to 1.5°C would severely jeopardise the achievement of the SDGs, making the poor poorer, and causing increasing inequalities, conflicts and humanitarian catastrophes.
Climate action and sustainable development are in-separable. The IPCC Special Report Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) was the first to systematically examine the links between different scenarios of global warming and sustainable development. It was the first to identify climate risks that can only be avoided by ambitious climate action, and the tremendous socio-economic opportunities ‒ or co-benefits of sustainable development ‒ that can be realised by taking ambitious climate action. The IPCC also discusses possible trade-offs between mitigation and adaptation on the one hand, and SDGs on the other. Minimising these trade-offs requires knowledge gaps to be closed, particularly with regard to the foot-print associated with land-use change caused by following 1.5°C-consistent pathways. Finally, in the report the IPCC stresses the importance of design triple-win solutions based on mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development.
Our report summarises the main facts and trends identified by the IPCC’s special report and other leading scientific literature. We focus on showing the key risks and the possible differences between a 1.5°C and a 2°C world. Moreover, we show where these differences would be felt the most, and how they may have an impact on the achievement of the SDGs and human rights, and translate into humanitarian challenges and concerns for justice. We identify Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs), South Asia, Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central America and Northeast Brazil as hot spots. Agriculture, water, health, (coastal) communities and cities, and tropical marine (coral) ecosystems are the areas most at risk if average global temperatures rise above 1.5°C
Published: 2018Author:ACT Alliance, World Council of Churches, The Lutheran World Foundation
With Case Examples from Tanzania, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Bangladesh
Discussion Paper
This discussion paper demonstrates that climate-induced non-economic loss and damage (NELD) includes forms of damage that cannot be measured or compensated financially. It includes loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, land, territories, artefacts, life, health, knowledge, social cohesion, identity, and sovereignty, and it ultimately causes migration and displacement.
NELD is a relatively new concept and very little academic research has been conducted on it until now. Thus, there are still many questions that need to be answered, not to mention a lack of knowledge and gaps in the data. This paper introduce the concept of NELD and discusses its main aspects as well as the key challenges related to it. These include the incommensurability and context-dependency of value, measurements that go beyond market prices, the difficulty of attributing loss to climate change, preventability, the multi-causality of NELD, and the interdependency of various types of loss.
Published: 2017Author:ACT Alliance, World Council of Churches, The Lutheran World Foundation
Towards climate resilient agriculture and food systems
A critical assessment and alternatives to climate-smart agriculture
This briefing sets out the ACT Alliance EU position on what we believe are the best solutions to build climate resilient agriculture systems and meet the right to food for all in developed and developing countries. This position is based on our comparative analysis of the currently in vogue ‘climate-smart agriculture’ framework (CSA) versus the alternative frameworks of food sovereignty and agroecology.
Published: 2017Author:Julia Jawtusch (Bread for all), Eike Zaumseil (Bread for the World), Karin Ulmer (ACT Alliance EU)
The ACT Alliance climate change advocacy framework position paper is designed as a broad outline of the policy areas and approaches that the alliance is working on. It serves as the general vision and guide for ACT Alliance’s climate change advocacy, campaigning, and messaging by providing a political and strategic framing of the thematic areas. It is expected that this document will be used by ACT forums and members in their own advocacy at the national and regional level.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an important milestone in climate change policy and diplomacy. It demonstrates the success of a multilateral process that lasted several years and that was beset by myriads of challenges. Finally, the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change showed that the world community is committed to finding a global solution to a global problem. Our mission as protestant development and humanitarian agencies, with our partners and networks, is to advocate for the rights of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. They are increasingly exposed to climate risks that threaten their lives and livelihoods in many climate vulnerable countries where we and our partners work.
ACT Alliance has launched a Toolkit, Towards the Ambitious Implementation of the Paris Agreement. The purpose of the Toolkit is to support the climate change advocacy actions of ACT members, forums and partners at the national level. The Toolkit guides FBOs to develop successful approaches for meaningful climate advocacy to stay at 1.5°C and to operationalise our common vision of shaping our future in ways that take up the call for a strong moral and religious imperative in overcoming the climate crisis.
The UN Environment Foresight Briefs are published by UN Environment to, among others, highlight a hotspot of environmental change, feature an emerging science topic, or discuss a contemporary environmental issue.
This is an opportunity to find out what is happening to their changing environment and the consequences of everyday choices, and to think about future directions for policy.
A Discussion Note prepared for the Second International Seminar on Environment,
Culture and Religion – Promoting Intercultural Dialogue for Sustainable Development
(23 – 24 April 2016, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran)
Published: 2016Author:By Dr. M. Niamir-Fuller, Prof. Dr. I. Özdemir and Father J. Brinkman
This guide is intended to provide practical guidance for climate communicators, both inside and outside faith communities, about what language works well and – crucially – what language might pose an obstacle for communicating with any specific faith group.
In April 2015, GreenFaith asked Climate Outreach to develop and test language around climate change that could mobilise activity across five main faith groups (in alphabetical order: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism) in the run-up to the 2015 world climate conference in Paris.
This research may be the first of its kind: not only does it seek language that works with each of the faiths, it seeks language that works across all of them.
Watch the webinar which shares and discusses the key findings from this guide.
Published: 2016Author:George Marshall, Director of Projects, Climate Outreach and GreenFaith
Published in 2000 by UNEP, Earth and Faith is a basic introduction to critical environmental issues and the role religious communities can play in engaging the environmental crisis.
UN Environment held its fourth Environment Assembly during 11-15 March 2019, with the themes of sustainable consumption and production, and innovative approaches to solving environmental issues. The Faith for Earth Initiative held its thematic dialogue in the Faith and SDG Tent, and convened bilateral and multilateral meetings with faith-based organisations’ (FBOs) representatives on issues of sustainable development and the environment.
The overall aim of the Faith for Earth Dialogue was to provide faith leaders and faith-based organisations an opportunity to present their positions, experiences and interfaith engagement as related to the main theme of the UN Environment Assembly – “Innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production”. Furthermore, the dialogue has provided the participants with an opportunity to reflect on UN system activities and on how it can integrate the initiative into its programme of work and partner with FBOs. Discussions also included ways of coordinating current and future efforts. Holding the dialogue during UNEA-4 was a golden opportunity for accredited FBOs to engage in policy dialogue with major groups and stakeholders, as well as with representatives of member states.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, March 5 2014. The Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) has issued a fatwa, or edict, requiring the country’s 200 million Muslims to take an active role in protecting threatened species including tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans.
The fatwa, which has been widely acclaimed in the world’s media this week, is one of the first of its kind in the world and it will be accompanied by an education programme to help communities put it into practice.
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More Educational Resources – Indonesian Fatwas on Biodiversity and Forest Protection
Alliance of Religions and Conservation and The Centre for Islamic Studies, National University (UNAS) in Jakarta
An Islam and conservation guidebook “Pelestarian Satwa Langka untuk Keseimbangan Ekosistem” (The Conservation of Endangered Species for the Ecosystem Balance). This reference book is designed as a complete guide to the fatwa for clerics. It explains basic conservation concepts and issues and relevant laws and regulations, and includes sustainable resource use guidelines and wildlife lists, with pictures of tigers, rhinos and other key threatened species. It describes the theological basis in Islam for conservation, and explains why MUI issued the fatwa
Jum’ah (Friday) Prayer Text for Conservation Preachers (Dai Konservasi), entitled “Khutbah Jum’at Pelestarian Satwa Langka untuk Keseimbangan Ekosistem” (Friday Sermon: The Conservation of Endangered Species for the Ecosystem Balance). This tool supports clerics to design sermons, ceremonies and festivals that highlight conservation messages in ways that embody the key tenets of Islam, and which can be easily communicated to local rural communities. At almost 100 pages it includes sermon guidance on 12 themes, including Islamic ethics concerning animals, and Islamic perspectives on wildlife conservation and the prohibition of illegal wildlife trade and hunting
In India, the issues of energy access and climate change are inextricably linked. If the 200 million people in India without access to electricity receive their energy from clean renewable sources, India will make a vital and positive contribution to the struggle against climate change. This report represents a first step in exploring how the country’s large and diverse religious sector can play an important role in addressing these two interconnected challenges.
Indian religious and spiritual institutions command significant moral authority and have a large civil society presence. If engaged and equipped properly, they could play a transformative role in ending energy poverty in India. Their potential impact, however, has received very little sustained attention from regional and national governments, the renewable energy, energy access and social entrepreneur sectors, and funders.
Following a 2017 consultation in Mumbai between religious leaders and social entrepreneurs in the field of energy access, in 2018, the Bhumi Project and GreenFaith engaged EPG Economic and Strategy Consulting to conduct a modest, initial survey of the renewable energy efforts of Indian religious and spiritual institutions. The aim was to identify renewable energy efforts and trends in the Indian religious sector, to identify any involvement by Indian religious institutions in the area of energy access, and to determine further research and action steps in these areas.
Over a six month period we researched 30 Indian religious and spiritual institutions, distributed across the country, which had initiated some form of renewable energy and/or sustainability initiative. These institutions were from the Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Sikh and Christian communities, along with a number of non-denominational spiritual organisations. The stories we gathered offer insights on how one of Indian society’s most culturally influential sectors can make a far greater contribution to closing India’s energy access gap.
Following ETC Group’s 2010 “Geopiracy” report, this report exposes the context, goals, actors and rapid developments underway to advance climate manipulation, or geoengineering. The new framing from geoengineers is that we must accept these dangerous technofixes because they cannot see any other alternative to stall or prevent climate havoc.
Since “Geopiracy,” the narrative has evolved to play on growing public alarm about the climate crisis and the technologies have advanced, but the actors and their goals remain the same. From adjusting the Earth’s thermostat to changing the chemistry of the oceans, geoengineering proposals pose unacceptable threats to people and the environment.
Published: 2018Author:ETC Group, Biofuelwatch, Heinrich Böll Foundation
This publication sets out Islamic Relief’s policy on climate change. It builds on the foundation of Islamic perspectives and scientific evidence described in the Islamic Relief Climate Change Policy of December 2014. Outlining policy messages for Islamic Relief programmes, partners and external audiences, the policy takes account of new events and adds Islamic Relief’s recent experience in adaptation, resilience, human development and poverty reduction.
The policy aims to:
• support Islamic Relief in delivering its global strategy goals, and to inform strategy implementation.
• inform political forums and external audiences, and to provide a basis for much-needed advocacy and influence.
This guide is intended to provide practical guidance for climate communicators, both inside and outside faith communities, about what language works well and – crucially – what language might pose an obstacle for communicating with any specific faith group.
In April 2015, GreenFaith asked Climate Outreach to develop and test language around climate change that could mobilise activity across five main faith groups (in alphabetical order: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism) in the run-up to the 2015 world climate conference in Paris.
This research may be the first of its kind: not only does it seek language that works with each of the faiths, it seeks language that works across all of them.
Published: 2016Author:George Marshall, Director of Projects, Climate Outreach
Understanding the key role that faith-based organizations play at the global, regional and local levels, UN Environment supports the UN-wide task force on Religion and Development. UN Environment is taking the lead in establishing an innovative strategy to engage and partner with faith-based organizations to deliver on Agenda 2030. The strategy builds on the 5 principles (People living on a healthy Planet, enjoying Prosperity and Partnerships in Peaceful societies), with three overarching goals: 1) Leadership for policy impact; 2) Financing to support SDGs; and 3) Knowledge-based decision support system. The three goals will largely depend on mobilizing local communities; co-ordinating communications and advocacy; fostering south-south cooperation; engaging in faith-Environment thematic conversations and empowering UN Environment corporate engagement.
The aim of this annotated bibliography on ‘Religion and Development’ is to lend a hand to practitioners in humanitarian and development work:
‘Where can I read and learn about how to take religion, religious communities and religious actors seriously in programme dialogue, planning and implementation?’
‘Where can one find accounts of good practices, learnings, tools and relevant methods in this regard?’ Therefore, this bibliography is not meant to be an overview of the theoretical aspect of religion and development in new political science and development literature, but rather to deliberately focus on the practical consequences and positive effects of the emerging new insights.
SDG 1: No Poverty pg 5
SDG 2: Zero Hunger pg 7
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being pg 10
SDG 5: Gender – Gender Equality pg 14
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth pg 20
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities pg 22
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities pg 24
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production pg 27
SDG 13: Climate Action pg 30
SDG 16: Resilient societies – Peace and Justice pg 32
SDG 17: Sustainable Development – Partnership for the Goals pg 35
UN Guidelines for engaging with Faith-Based organisations pg 44
Positions of governmental donors pg 46
Alphabetical bibliography pg 47
Published: 2018Author:Birgitte Bronsted Lodahl, Edited by Mayada Magdi Mohamedani
Climate change experts from the ACT Alliance network have published a report assessing the threats posed by climate change on the sustainable development goals (SDG) and disaster risk reduction. The report finds that warming of 1.5°C will severely impact climate-vulnerable developing countries, and urges more ambitious climate action. The report also identifies policy recommendations to maintain the possibility of staying at 1.5°C global warming.
United Nations Strategic Learning Exchange on Religion, Development and Humanitarian Work under the patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, in Amman, Jordan
The Strategic Learning Exchange (SLE) is a partnership effort stewarded by the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development, together with the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), the King Abdullah Center for Dialogue (KAICIID), World Vision International (WVI) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ Jordan). This SLE focused on the religion and role in addressing the SDGs with special focus on MENA region.
To a large extent, governance capacity and community resilience explains the nature and structure of the response. In this report, three case studies – from Angola, Mali, and Honduras – of actual responses to climate change and conflict are presented.
Part one of this two-part report examined the overall links between climate change and conflict.1 It found how violent conflict worsens climate vulnerability. For example, violent conflicts lead to famine;
natural resources destruction is a deliberate tactic in waging war; conflict hampers macro-level responses to climate change; and the adoption of ‘green strategies’ can also be used to gain the upper
hand in conflicts.
Climate change hazards make it more difficult to tackle violence and build peace. Climate change can trigger food shortages, decrease water supplies or disrupt access to energy supplies – leading to economic and political turmoil, social unrest, riots, deadly battles and even all-out war. In response, the governments and militaries of 110 countries have already identified climate change as a threat to their national security.
This review describes Islamic Relief’s most recent interventions and highlights how communities are working with them to adapt to climate change and build resilience, including efforts to reduce the risk from future shocks. It also captures why Islamic Relief is vocal on climate change and climate justice issues, and how they are campaigning to reduce emissions, promote sustainable living and protect the most vulnerable.
The term ‘climate change’ throughout this report, but recognise that the world witnessing is something entirely different from what occurred throughout the earth’s history. This is climate breakdown, where the actions of humans are causing changes within decades that have previously taken millennia. To deal with this means questioning not only current environmental and economic policies, but entire political and economic systems.
The Enhancing Community Resilience Programme (ECRP) works to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, reduce vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of around 77,000 households. In total, it reaches 423,000 people across seven districts who are among the hardest hit by climate change.
Christian Aid and its fellow consortium members CARE International Malawi and ActionAid Malawi together manage 10 local organisations with long-standing local experience who deliver ECRP on the ground.
Climate finance is one of the thorniest issues on the UN climate change agenda. Developed countries claim to be complying with their financial commitments, while developing countries continue to ask where the money is. To overcome this recurring discussion, the parties must first hammer out and agree on some rules for the accounting of climate finance.
1) There should be an agreed definition of climate finance, accounting and reporting
2) There should be greater transparency and accuracy in the assessments
3) Climate finance should be balanced between mitigation and adaptation
4) Climate finance should be genuinely “new and additional”
For generations, indigenous people survived by farming with water from wells they dug, until the government took away their water in order to assist larger industries. Therefore, crops began to fail and indigenous people were left hungry. Flor y Canto is an agency of American Jewish World Service that has proceeded to help protect the rights and promote growth for these indigenous people.
Published: 2017Author:American Jewish World Service
In 2015 Africa experienced its worst drought in 60 years. The unusually strong El Niño weather pattern in 2015-2016, coupled with record-high temperatures, had a catastrophic effect on crops, vegetation, livestock, and water resources. Unfortunately, the drought has continued into 2017 due to lack of significant rainfall. In response to the drought, ADRA and partners have implemented a number of interventions.
