Eco-Congregation Ireland’s new climate change resource is now available on our website here.
The resource, which includes some of the latest data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th assessment report, also includes a comprehensive theological response to climate change, prayers for the environment and advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint.
Launching the resource at a climate justice event we held in Cork on 7th November, Emeritus Prof John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth said: “The resource provides a valuable perspective on the nature and impacts of climate change in an Irish context. On a practical level it highlights the connection between local action and global consequences. It also demonstrates that the problem of climate change can only be tackled if ethical principles are coupled with scientific knowledge to inform and motivate policy makers. The disconnect between the science and the politics of national interest have bedevilled attempts to tackle our greenhouse gas emissions and the authors of the report are to be congratulated on highlighting these vital linkages.”
The resource includes quotes from Mary Robinson as well as environmentalists Gavin Harte and Éanna Ní Lamhna, BBC television presenter Rev Peter Owen-Jones, Alex Hill of the Met Office, Columban eco-theologian Fr Seán McDonagh, Monsignor Dermot Lane, President of the Mater Dei Institute, and Bishop David Atkinson, former Bishop of Thetford – all of whom have spoken at events we have organised over the past few years.
We hope this resource will encourage Christians in Ireland to incorporate eco-friendly habits into their lives – as churches, communities and as individuals – as they come to terms with the reality of climate change and how our carbon-guzzling lifestyles are already impacting the lives of many people living in developing countries.