Faith Communities Call for Fossil Fuel Phase Out

September 18, 2024
Category: News & Announcements, Social Impact

Cathedrals and over 150 diverse places of worship across Australia are unveiling banners this week with a united message for the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition: supporting a rapid transition from coal and gas to clean energy.

Huge banners are being ceremonially unveiled at Cathedrals in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle, and Brisbane as part of a Week of Action. At each place of worship, faith leaders are leading the call for a fossil fuel phase-out, a historic investment in renewables, an end to the coal and gas industry cash splash and lobbying for changes to environment laws.

The Week of Action is being organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. It coincides with a Global Week of Action on the climate, calling for fast-tracking the end of fossil fuels, and insisting on big changes to climate finance for the adaptation and disaster recovery needs of low-income countries.

A video statement addressing the leaders of both major parties features nine senior faith leaders outlining a list of policies requested by faith communities. At the top of the list is a plan to phase out fossil fuels.

Rev Mata Havea Hiliau, Uniting Church Moderator NSW & ACT, said, “The most important part of that plan is for you to let the country know when you will get the job done. We need a date. And we need to know when you will stop allowing exports of coal and gas.”

Bishop Hans Christiansen from the Anglican Archdiocese of Perth said, “Scientists tell us we cannot afford any more coal and gas projects – anywhere. So we’re calling on both leaders to stop allowing new gas fields – especially those looking beyond 2050. The situation is far too urgent for that. Gas is not the answer.”

The Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Jeremy Greaves, targets taxpayer hand-outs to fossil fuel companies. He said, “We must stop giving around $11 billion of public money annually to the coal and gas industries. They have enough of their own. There is a cost of living crisis. We’re asking the Prime Minister to put that instead into his new plan for clean sources of energy and creating good jobs. Let’s do this in a way that leaves no one behind.”

There is a special message for Liberal Leader Peter Dutton: nuclear is not the answer.

Rev Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, said, “Nuclear would cause dangerous delays when we’re in an urgent crisis, leading us to use a lot more gas in the meantime. That would mean billions of tonnes more climate pollution.”

Rev Havea Hilliau adds that this means “more people suffering in heat waves, floods and droughts. People on low-lying islands – like my family members in the Pacific – are at great risk of seeing their homes go underwater. We need to reduce climate pollution right now, not later.”

Faith communities are swinging behind environmental organisations who want a safe climate to be a central objective of the country’s revised Nature laws.

Mohamed Mohideen, Vice-President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said, “The biggest, most urgent environmental threat we face is climate change. It is only right that our key environmental laws have protection of the climate right at their heart.”

Justice is a key theme. Aboriginal Christian Leader and Wakka Wakka woman, Brooke Prentis, said, “We need both main parties to fully respect First Nations peoples’ rights to protect their Country from coal and gas projects. That means amending the Native Title Act to remove flaws that favour mining interests over the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We must listen to and be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for Creation and Climate Justice.”

Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, from the Assembly of Rabbis and Cantors, said, “Faith communities are united in this – as we head into election season, it’s time for our political leaders to unite too. Protecting the climate is an issue that should be above politics. Whoever wins, the climate should be a top priority. It is a sacred responsibility for our generation towards generations to come.”

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