I recently became interested in the issue of climate justice after attending the annual Trocaire Lenten Lecture entitled “Integral ecology and the horizon of hope” delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. This title “integral ecology” happens to be the topic of Pope Francis’ anticipated encyclical later this year which relates to putting care for creation and a planetary perspective at the heart of all our decisions. Environmental issues have to become an integral part of our decision making.
After I attended a series of five climate conversations organised by Climate Gathering an umbrella group that brings diverse groups from political, business, scientific and cultural backgrounds together to work on the challenge of stabilising the climate and sustaining prosperity in the face of environmental limits.
The five climate conversations were held in iconic buildings around Dublin and brought people together for a new understanding on climate change and involved a series of conversations hosted in partnership with Trócaire, Christian Aid, the Environmental Pillar, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and IBEC. The five events ran from March to May closing with the last conversation in the Abbey Theatre.
The participants included NGO’s, scientists, geologists, trade unionists, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, poets, farmers, food experts, school children, representatives from faith groups and spiritual traditions as well as individuals from different generations charting their own path in response to climate justice. In one of the conversations entitled “prophetic voices” there were testimonies from individuals involved in actions which are prophetic and offer a concrete response to the call for action.
All of the contributors in the conversations were inspiring in their commitment to fighting climate change and in building a culture of influencing human behaviour. We heard that we must all change our behaviour toward the environment and the earth’s scarce resources. One quote I heard from a young 17 year old has remained with me. She said “doing something is better than doing nothing” and this has given me hope that I can make a difference in even making small changes to my behaviour towards the environment around me.
At the concluding conversation entitled “The Call to New Horizons” we were asked to write down our commitment to slow climate change and I wrote “I am part of the solution to climate change as it starts with me”. This is what I believe.
On 22nd – 23rd June Trócaire is hosting a major conference on Meeting the Challenge of Cimate Justice: From Evidence to Action. For intormation or to book a place see: http://www.trocaire.org/climate-justice-2015.
