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Joint CEC - CCEE Letter to the Churches in Europe
This letter comes to you as a joint letter from the Conference of European
Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE). It
addresses one of the key concerns we have together to face.
Climate change is an issue for each one of us. It affects the life of the whole
planet. Earth and all its ecosystems is a precious gift which we have received
from God.
In the face of global crisis - economic, environmental or any other - , we are
called to live in the way that shows the Faith and Hope and Love which we
bear towards God, as well as our respect for the whole of God’s creation.
In a world of limited natural resources we need to foster a lifestyle which
prevents all abuse of God’s gifts in creation and promotes a good
stewardship of all that God has given us in Creation. In this perspective, we
need to reduce our dependence on increasing consumption of energy, in
particular consumption of fossil-based energy.
Industrialised countries have to take the lead in these efforts, on the basis also
of their responsibility for decades of accumulating Green House Gasses
(GHGs) in the Earth’s atmosphere. The cumulative effect of these GHGs is one of many challenges which we need to manage on the level of political
decision-making. It also challenges us to modify our daily lives as communities and individuals.
At the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen from 7-18 December this year, important decisions will be made which will influence many aspects of our lives from now into the foreseeable future. CEC and CCEE together with many individual Churches in Europe believe that the issues discussed at the
conference and the challenges we face are not only to do with technicalities
of climate change: ethics, culture, faith and religion are substantive elements
of our lifestyle and must be taken into account if climate change is to be
effectively tackled and integral human development secured. We know that
only with a really human ecology, which takes account of the rights but also
the responsibilities which we bear towards each other and towards future
generations, can a better care for the environment be foreseen.
We believe that the EU has to step up its efforts to recognise the mutual
responsibility of member countries to combat climate change
In the light of this:
We encourage Churches and Christians in Europe to take appropriate action
to address the challenge of climate change in the weeks to come:
.. We encourage them to approach their respective governments and to
invite them, with courageous generosity, to take strong action in
mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. The impact
of the economic crisis must not be an excuse for avoiding effective
action on the protection of the environment.
.. We encourage Churches in Europe to note that the challenge of
climate change is an issue of justice. Those who have contributed least
to the problem of climate change, because they live in less developed
and less industrialized regions, are the first to feel the effects. We need
to recognise their concerns and to join together in addressing them.
.. We need to acknowledge that climate change can cause untold
suffering and hardship, can hamper integral human development and
can harm creation. We support the development of new financial
instruments enabling to tackle these problems.
.. We encourage Churches to take part in initiatives for saving energy, in
the promotion of renewable energy, in addressing the negative effects
of climate change and in educating to an ecological responsibility
aimed at safeguarding an authentic human ecology.
.. We encourage networking, sharing of initiatives and good practices
leading to the care of creation as emphasised and recommended in
the outcomes of the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly in 2007 in Sibiu
(Romania).
We invite Churches to engage in common prayer, in solidarity with those
suffering the negative effects of climate change, in a common search for
wisdom and perseverance in changing our inappropriate lifestyles. On
Sunday 13th December 2009 in the Lutheran Cathedral in Copenhagen there
will be an ecumenical act of worship as part of the UN conference on climate
change. We invite you to join in these prayers in your own way, so joining the
extended community of people praying in Copenhagen and in many parts
of the world. At 15h00 the churches in Denmark will ring their bells, and
Christians around the world are invited to echo them by sounding their own
bells 350 times at 15h00 local time. More information about the initiative can
be found on the www.bellringing350.org. What is envisaged is a chain of
chimes and prayers stretching in a time-line from the Fiji Islands in the South
Pacific – where the day first begins, and where the negative effects of
climate change are already felt, to northern Europe and across the globe.
We ask God for His grace and wisdom to equip us to face the challenges of
the current environmental crisis. We do that in response to the call of Jesus in
the Gospel to promote societies which are characterised by justice and
solidarity CCEE and CEC, in close partnership with the European Christian
Environmental Network (ECEN) actively monitor the situation. We will be glad to respond to any questions and needs of clarification resulting from this letter.
With God’s blessing
St. Gallen/Geneva, 6 November 2009
Fr. Duarte da Cunha Ven. Colin Williams
CCEE General Secretary CEC General Secretary
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