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Archbishop Desmond Tutu: No Excuse For Climate Ignorance
fossil fuel divestment
Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies
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The congregation of across the country Trinity-St Paul’s United Church in Toronto voted unanimously on Sunday at its Annual General Meeting to lend its voice to the fast-growing divestment movement, and to ensure that its own funds are not invested in any of the world’s 200 largest fossil fuel companies. The vote confirms a long-standing commitment to climate justice, which has been a key priority of the congregation for the past decade.
Jeanne Moffat, a member and representative of the Climate Justice Group of Trinity St. Paul’s, sees the decision as deliberately aligning with Christianity’s core teachings of justice. “For too many years governments have not dealt decisively with the impending climate chaos, largely to the peril of low- income countries and low-lying regions of the world. Low-income countries are neither responsible for the heat-trapping gases that will cause more droughts and floods, nor do they have the resources to adapt. Not to act in the face of the realities of climate change is to violate our call to justice. We call upon all people of faith to join us in this movement.”
The timing of the decision coincides with other churches’ and institutions’ decisions to stop profiting from the companies whose business model includes plundering the planet. The decision represents clear dissatisfaction with the inadequate climate policies of the world’s wealthiest countries.
“We have been working on climate justice for well over a decade as individuals and as a congregation,” says Moffat, who proposed the motion on behalf of the Climate Justice Group. “We have been part of a range of campaigns to call for climate action at the scale and pace needed to avert climate catastrophe. We see this as a necessary, logical step in the mass movement away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy and energy efficiency. This movement is growing and growing fast. We invite our sibling congregations across Canada to support this movement away from the fossil fuels that threaten all of Creation.”
Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church is a congregation of the United Church of Canada. Trinity-St. Paul’s seeks to live the love, justice and freedom of Jesus Christ. Worship of God, nurture of one another, and the struggle to be faithful to God’s call lie at the centre of its community and its outreach.
The United Church of Canada is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada with over 3,000 congregations and other ministries across the country.
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Trinity-St Paul’s Church: Climate Justice
Can Fossil Fuel Divestment Prevent The Carbon Bubble From Bursting?
Former President Of Ireland: Urgent Need For Action on Climate Change
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The recent extreme flooding in the UK and Ireland has highlighted the devastating effect our changing climate can have; but if we do not take action fast, future generations will experience weather shocks on a far greater scale. Our planet is warming to a catastrophic extent, and the human race must step up.
The divestment campaign – which originated in the United States and is now making its way across the Atlantic – is one shining example of what is needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Transforming our economic system to one based on low-carbon production and consumption can create inclusive sustainable development and reduce inequality. To achieve a just transition to a low-carbon economy, it is crucial that we invest in social protection, enhance workers’ skills for redeployment in a low-carbon economy, and promote access to sustainable development for all. Click here to read full article at TheGuardian.com.
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