Australian Religious Response to Climate Change calls on faith leaders to recognize their responsibility to unite for climate action
Speaking Out
In late November, at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) stood with Interfaith leaders from across Queensland in calling for their political leaders to turn away from fossil fuels and developing more coal basins in Queensland, and not to waste public monies propping up the Adani mine.
"Religion is political, life is political, to stay silent is a political act." - Rev. Peter Catt, Anglican Dean of Brisbane
Instead they called on them to invest in a cleaner, healthier community by supporting renewable energy in our regions, protecting Australians' precious water and agricultural lands, respecting the sacred lands and wishes of First Nations peoples, and backing our tourism industry and the Great Barrier Reef.
For those millions of people most at risk from climate change, including in the Torres Strait and Pacific, for our children's futures and their children's, and for all of our beautiful creation.
President of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, Thea Ormerod, with Tejopala Rawls, Alan Clayton and others are told by police to move on. They continued to block construction of Adani rail link until they were arrested.
After temporarily blocking the construction of the Adani rail line, faith leaders were arrested. They regard the proposed Carmichael coal mine and associated infrastructure as deeply immoral.
Taking Direct Action
A Uniting Church Minister, ordained Buddhist, two Catholics and a Quaker were arrested on in late November for temporarily blocking the construction of the Adani rail line. They regard the proposed Carmichael mine and associated infrastructure as deeply immoral.
Watch their feature on Ten Eyewitness News Australia on November 20th.
If this rail line from Abbot Point to the Galilee Basin goes ahead, it will cause the loss of enormous amounts of scarce water, damage our climate, rob the Wangan and Jagalingou people of their homeland and it won't even supply many reliable jobs. We believe that the government should be spending all we can to invest in renewables, not support a dying industry.
See more information on the action here: http://www.arrcc.org.au/update_on_adani_action
FAITH LEADERS CLIMATE STATEMENT:
Dear Queensland Premier and Leader of the Opposition And Prime Minister and Leader of the Federal Opposition,
We are from diverse faith traditions in Queensland including the Anglican Church, Catholic Church, Jewish faith, Pagan Tradition, Unitarian Universalists, Uniting Church, Quakers, and inter-faith and cultural organisations.
As leaders in our faith communities, we feel compelled to challenge Queensland’s proposal to assist and partner with the Adani Group to develop the Carmichael Mine in the Galilee Basin because of the effect the resulting carbon emissions will have on our climate, our economy, the world’s poor and the environment.
With global warming being a threat to the viability of our agricultural and tourism industries, our marine life, and the wildlife in this beautiful State, it seems unconscionable that any current or future Queensland government would make a development decision that puts all this at risk.
We believe that people of goodwill must work together to reduce greenhouse gas pollution at emergency speed.
Therefore, the development of the mine is unacceptable, as are all forms of government support, direct or indirect, for the mining, transport and shipping of fossil fuels.
We urge both governments to instead invest in renewable energy technology which will create far more employment opportunities than the proposed mine.
We call on you to refuse approval for Northern Australia Infrastructure Funds to be used to build the railway line for the Adani mine.
We plead with you on behalf of our fellow Queenslanders and Australians, for the members of our faith groups, for the millions of vulnerable people on earth, for future generations who have no say of their own, and for all of creation.
Yours in peace
- Dr Paul Inglis – CEO UCFORUM – Uniting Church
- Peter Arndt – Executive Officer, Catholic Justice & Peace Commission
- of Brisbane
- Heather Abramson – Abramson Educational Consulting and member
- of the Jewish Community
- Dr Rose Elu – Anglican Torres Strait Islander Community
- Dr Brian Adams – Director, Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue,
- Griffith University
- Renee Hills – Brisbane Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
- Linda Ward – Pagan Tradition
- Dean Peter Catt – St John’s Anglican Cathedral
- The Rev’d Peter Moore – Chair, Angligreen
- Taisoo Kim Watson – Quakers
- Duncan Frewin – Quakers
- The Rev’d Dr Jo Inkpin – St Francis Theological College, Anglican
- Church
- The Rev’d Murray Fysh, Merthyr Rd Uniting Church, New Farm
- The Rev’d Bruce Boase - Member of the National Aboriginal Torres
- Strait Islander Anglican Commission
- Queensland Churches Environmental Network