Time to 'Get Serious'



The General Synod of the Anglican church in Australia has called on its government to ‘get serious’ about climate change. The proposer of the motion, the Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt, Dean of St John’s Cathedral Brisbane, said the federal government should deepen its commitment to the Paris Agreement of 2015. The motion called for the following actions:
  • For the Federal Government to act with a deepened sense of urgency to develop policies and practices that would allow Australia to achieve the reductions in carbon pollution it committed to at the Paris Climate talks in 2015.
  • For the Church to get its own house in order by actively seeking to reduce its carbon footprint and the footprint generated by its investment portfolios. 
  • For the Church to more fully take its place in the public square and to be a more active participant in the Climate Change debate. And for the church to bring to bear the rich resources it possesses such as its theology of the environment in the Climate Change debate
The Church of Ireland set an example in 2017 with its motion to reduce investments in fossil fuels and increase investments in green alternatives. It is encouraging to see that this example is being followed by other members of the Anglican communion. But the Australian’s have also gone further in calling on their government to deepen its commitment to the Paris Agreement. What the Church of Ireland really needs is for someone to take up the lead for environmental issues. Someone to speak with a prophetic voice calling for a wholesale, rapid, change in direction away from polluting fossil fuels to a clean energy future. The Irish government and NI government (let’s hope) need church voices calling for change.

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