March 2, 2016 marked a turning point for federal-provincial cooperation on climate policy in Canada.
Federal and provincial leaders, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis representatives, and a wide range of civil society organizations are gathering in Vancouver to discuss the future of climate change policy in Canada.
Canadians prayed for 296 consecutive hours during Paris climate negotiations. Concerned kids, parents, farmers, musicians, scientists, grandmothers, ministers, national churches, and friends, all across Canada (and beyond!) participated.
Last winter, my nine-year-old son accompanied me to a climate talk at our church. But rather than bored, Oscar was captivated and took to writing about climate change, flooding and drought, and the significant oil and gas reserves that must stay underground.Â
Then I began to worry. How much did he understand about what the world might look like when he’s my age? And did he (as I do) have faith that we could muster the ambition necessary to take action?
By Randolph Haluza-DeLay, PhD
Demanding action on both climate change and poverty, the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) has released On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada: Faith Communities in Canada Speak Out. Citizens for Public Justice helped to draft this inter-faith statement, which also adds a call for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
In the lead up to COP21, CPJ launched Prayers for COP21 in Paris, a suite of worship materials, advocacy tools, and a nation-wide prayer chain designed to help people of faith engage with climate justice.
Here are five citizens across Canada that are joining CPJ in Prayers for COP21 in Paris.
Justice group urges Canadian Christians to pray and act for climate justice during UN Conference
For Immediate Release
Ottawa, ON, November 3, 2015 — World leaders are working to forge a new international climate agreement at the UN Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015. COP21 has the potential to be a real turning point for the fate of creation.
September 2015
Read the Statement
In conjunction with the United Nations Sustainable Development summit, Canadian faith leaders have called for climate justice in Canada—for all Canadians, and for the world. “On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada” addresses ecological justice, poverty in Canada, and Indigenous rights.
The movement to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy and climate solutions has exploded, growing fifty-fold in the past year. To date, 430 institutions and 2,040 individuals across 43 countries and representing $2.6 trillion in assets have committed to divest from fossil fuel companies.
Faith communities cannot, in good conscience, be strong advocates for addressing climate change while continuing to profit from fossil fuel companies.
For God so loved the world. Throughout the creation story we hear of God’s pleasure at what has been created. Light, water, living creatures, and human kind. God looked at it all and declared “it is good.”
On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ottawa, ON: September 25, 2015 – As Pope Francis addresses the United Nations this morning, his message is already having an impact in Canada. Today, an inter-faith declaration, “On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada: Faith Communities in Canada Speak Out” was released by…