Many faith leaders have signified their commitments to climate action. For example, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church penned the Laudato Si, critiquing consumerism and irresponsible development and calls on people for swift and unified global action. The pope has also committed to net zero by 2050. The Church of England has also committed to net zero by 2030. Their plan includes reducing emissions from Cathedrals, churches, dioceses, and schools.
Rowan Williamson, when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, launched the second phase of the Tyndall Centre back in 2006, speaking to us about how climate change is a moral issue. According to World Vision, faith has great potential in addressing the climate emergency. According to Pew Research Center, 84% of the world’s population or 8/10 people identify with a religious group. This is an opportunity for religions to transform their communities in different ways to help in climate action. For this episode we have Chris Walsh from the University of Manchester and Rachel Sowerby from the Church of England to talk to us more about the role of faith/religion in climate action.