How can religious institutions lead action on one of the greatest humanitarian issues of our time...
Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, reported earlier this week how "Saving the Earth and its peoples from dangerous climate change is an economic, social and environmental issue – and a moral and ethical one too that goes to the core of many if not all of the world’s great faiths".
Undoubtedly, climate change will only make harder a whole range of faith-based concerns. From overcoming poverty, to caring for the sick, feeding the hungry and many more - Figueres says it's time for faith groups and religious institutions "to find their voice and set their moral compass on one of the great humanitarian issues of our time".
Earlier this year the White House held a conference on environmental stewardship and climate change with leaders of religious communities from around the U.S. This was a great step in gathering support from faith leaders to address the deepening climate crisis, and in bringing the idea of moral stewardship of the environment onto the agenda.
The idea of moral stewardship reflects how ground-up action is just as important (if not more so) than top-down policies in averting the climate crisis, as public pressure is what ultimately leads governments to change their tunes.
Religious institutions have a unique position to assist is shaping a world that is less polluted and damaged, healthier, safer and more secure for all. Governments often get held back by political and economic challenges in addressing climate change, whereas the non-governmental civil society sector can respond faster to the climate crisis upon us.
In fact, many religious institutions around the world, including smaller ones in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. are already doing so, leading a movement to shift financial investments away from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in institutions that support clean, renewable energy technologies.
Multi-faith groups in Australia and North America recently sent a letter to Pope Francis saying it is "immoral" to profit from fossil fuels.
New prayer platform OurVoices is another movement by religious institutions bringing faith to climate talks, and calls on millions of people around the world of all faiths and beliefs to express their concern for vulnerable people and our precious planet.
Of course we do not for one minute believe that moral stewardship of the environment should be limited to the faith-based actors. Big businesses and governments have moral obligations as well, and sustainable development cannot be achieved without all aspects of society playing their part. But that doesn't mean anyone needs to wait until others starts taking responsibility on this issue.
Sooner or later ground-up action and top-down policies will meet. We hope its when governments have agreed to secure a new universal agreement on climate change in Paris 2015.
So over the next 18 months until then, the leaders of faith groups, from Christians and Muslims to Hindus, Jews and Buddhists have a responsibility and an opportunity to, as Figueres put it, "provide a moral compass to their followers and to political, corporate, financial and local authority leaders.... and secure a healthy and habitable world for all but contribute to the spiritual and physical well-being of humanity now and for generations to come".
See what Christiana Figueres had to say about 1 Million Women here