Faith Leaders Unite to Combat Climate Change

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Moderator of the Church of Scotland Sheilagh Kesting, and Imam Sheikh Muhammad Ruzwan said, “We must not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the most vulnerable people who will continue to be those most acutely affected by climate change.”

In a letter to John Swinney, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, the leaders highlighted that their respective international aid organisations, SCIAF, Christian Aid and Islamic Relief, are already dealing with the harsh consequences of changes to the climate and weather patterns in developing countries. Over 150,000 people are dying each year from diseases attributable to climate change*.

The three leaders are backing calls from Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), a broad coalition of faith and civil society organisations, seeking strong policy action from the government ahead of the Scottish Climate Change Bill which is currently out to consultation.

The letter called on the government to ensure the Scottish Climate Change Bill meets its stated objective of showing international leadership on this issue and that governments around the world must take strong and urgent action in line with the latest scientific consensus, to minimise and reduce the impact of climate change. The leaders will be encouraging their communities to write to their MSPs to back a strong Bill. The cost of failure, the leaders said, will be counted, not only in pounds and in environmental degradation, but in people’s lives.

Get involved: Sign SCIAF’s Climate Change e-action to your MSP now.

You can also read our Guide to Climate Change.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is calling for:

· Ensure that the principle of doing Scotland’s fair share to keep the rise in global surface temperature to 2 degrees is enshrined in the Bill

· 80% cuts in greenhouse gases on 1990 levels by 2050

· Annual budgets to ensure reductions of at least 3% per annum

· Inclusion of aviation and shipping

· Mainstreaming development considerations within the Bill and government action on climate change more broadly. Commit to providing adaptation funding in addition to, and not at the expense of, the aid budget; ensure there is a development expert on the Climate Change Committee advising the Scottish government.

*World Health Organisation, Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Response 2003, referenced in Christian Aid’s 2006 report The Climate of Poverty.