LONDON - 22 April 2008 - 220 words
Hundreds of religious to march on Parliament over Climate Change Bill
Hundreds of nuns, monks and clergy will be marching on Westminster tomorrow to ask MPs to strengthen the Climate Change Bill and 'kick the carbon habit' for the sake of the poorest in the world.
The event has been organised by CAFOD, Conference of Religious (CoR) and Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Links (JPIC) to draw attention to the fact that those in developing countries are the first to experience the devastating impacts of climate change despite contributing to it the least.
Before marching on Westminster the delegation will listen to speeches by Fr Sean McDonagh, a Columban missionary who has written extensively on ecology and religion, Fr Christopher Jamison, the Abbot of Worth Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery near Crawley which was the focus of BBC TV series The Monastery, Sr Nuala Mottley, a Presentation Sister from Manchester, Mark Dowd, journalist, documentary maker and Campaign Strategist at Operation Noah, and Chris Bain director of CAFOD.
The religious lobby will be calling on MPs to strengthen the Climate Change Bill by: increasing the carbon emissions reduction target from 'at least 60% to at least 80% by 2050' and by including the UK's share of emissions from international aviation and shipping in the reduction.
Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Affairs will be meeting a delegation to hear their concerns in the afternoon.
Sister Pat Robb, CJ, a nun taking part in the march, said: "The poorest for whom life is already a real struggle will bear the brunt of climate change, while those that have consumed more than their fair share of the earth will not have to pay such a heavy price. We have to remember that the earth was given to us by God to feed us all, in return we must love and care for it. That is why as a religious community we feel it is our obligation to lobby our MPs on this important issue."
Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD, said: "Tackling climate change is essential if the Government's good work in fighting poverty is not to be undermined by rising global temperatures which hit the world's poor hardest. We desperately need to see a strong Bill going through parliament, which shows the UK is taking tough action on climate change, and gives the Government a mandate to speak out at crucial international talks."
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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