With the future at heart

From the Pope to Patriarch Bartholomew I, to the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams: all major Christian religious leaders fielded the 17th International United Nations Climate Change Conference. The Conference was opened on Monday November 28 in Durban, South Africa, before 17 thousand delegates from 195 Countries, environmental bodies and associations. The negotiators’ talks tackled long-dated, notorious difficulties, in the effort to reach an agreement on “post-Kyoto”, which for the time being remains the only benchmark for the reduction of greenhouse gases. The heart of the problem is the resistance of the United States, China and India, namely, the world’s most polluting countries. Christian religious leaders called upon attending participants to deliver clear and concrete agreements at the end of the Conference, in the awareness that the environmental question has reached a danger point. The needs of the poor. After reciting Sunday Angelus, Benedict XVI recalled the opening of the UN Climate Conference in Durban. “I hope”, said the Holy Father, “that all members of the international community agree on a responsible and credible response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, taking into account the needs of the poorest and future generations”. The words of His Holiness echoed the requests and the statements pronounced by South African Archbishop Msgr. Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace laureate. On the day of the opening of the UN Conference in Durban Park Stadium Msgr. Tutu di Durban led a rally titled “We Have Faith – Act Now for Climate Justice”, during which was launched a petition (www.wehavefaithactnow.org) requesting world leaders “to treat the world with respect”. “Apartheid seemed like a huge challenge, that couldn’t be defeated. But we fought and crushed it. We need equal determination and passion to defeat climate change”, he said. “Climate change is a huge enemy, more than apartheid: with global warming millions of Africans are left without water and crops, which will cause huge suffering. This scenario must be prevented. Before this threat, many of us feel tempted to raise their hands, feeling they might make the difference”. Moral leadership. Also the Archbishop of Canterbury , Rowan Williams, the leader of the world’s Anglicans, in view of the UN Conference called upon the International Community to realize that “The moral crisis is as real as ever. The effects of environmental pressure and change are more and more felt day by day, especially by the most vulnerable people on planet earth. “And we need as never before real moral leadership from our governments, from the international community”. The Archbishop urged rich Countries to detail how they will fulfil the pledge agreed in 2010 to provide $100 billion annually, starting in 2020, to help developing countries adapt to climate change and mitigate the damage. “We need to see some security, some guarantees, about emissions cuts. We need to see some clarity about a real integrated response to questions around clean energy, food security, clean water and bio-diversity. It would be a “tragedy” if the current generation of leaders failed to live up to the expectations of the next”, he concluded.A crime against humanity. “We are all responsible for the future of our planet and for human life. Climate change affects all people and all nations. None among us can remain a mere spectator”. The ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, underlined that “previous meetings in Copenhagen and Cancun failed to produce a legally binding agreement with regard to affluent and poor nations”. Furthermore, he continued, “next year marks the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, even if “prominent and prosperous nations” have yet to ratify it. Without sacrifice, both personal and national, we cannot reach the unity necessary for an enduring agreement”, he said. There is the priority of “securing moral leadership” on these issues, since “global climate change presents an unprecedented threat to the integrity and diversity of life on earth. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has already denounced ecological abuse as sin against God; we should recognize how it is also a crime against humanity”.