Download WHF Maputo Statement 8th September 2013 We, members of faith

WHF Maputo Statement
8th September 2013
We, members of faith communities and civil society from the
Southern and Eastern African countries meeting in Maputo 7–8
September, believe the nations of the world need to take immediate
action to prevent runaway climate change. This means radically
reducing carbon emissions to restore the health of the planet and
needs to be addressed with a greater sense of urgency than given to
the financial crisis.
We are deeply concerned about the state of unreality being shown
by most countries of the world. The vast majority of scientists,
98.5%, acknowledge that climate change is human induced. If we
continue with ‘business as usual’, escalating the emission of
greenhouse gases, we face a perilous and chaotic future.
We therefore call on World leaders – as we did in Durban in 2011 –
to be honest. We cannot fool the natural environment. Let political
leaders, business, industry and mining acknowledge the reality of
climate change and the perilous position human and all life on this
planet is facing, and place the well-being of people and the planet
before financial gain. Finance must be used to serve people and the
health of the planet, not vice-versa.
In order to help secure our future well-being we ask the UNFCCC at
COP 19 to set as the international goal the keeping of average global
temperature increases below 1.50C. Even if it is argued that
temperatures are inevitably rising, we do not believe an average
temperature increase of 20 C is acceptable. Nor can we accept that
any country is entitled to ‘carbon space’ with license to continue to
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send pollution into the atmosphere, the effects of which could last a
thousand years.
We therefore ask all people, organisations, faith communities and
governments to take steps to reduce carbon emissions. Specifically:
1. We call on all nations to commit to reducing GHGs urgently, even
if UNFCCC has not come to an agreement.
2. We call on all nations to end subsidies of fossil fuels immediately.
The released funds should be used to fund decentralised renewable
energy
generation
and
environmental
rehabilitation.
3. We call on 'developed nations' to enable developing nations to
leap frog the dirty fossil fuel era into the clean ecological era by
funding renewable energy. This will provide the energy needed for
developing countries.
4. We are convinced that the ‘Green Fund’ should provide grants,
not loans or ‘business as usual’ profit driven finance, as the historic
polluting countries have an ecological and sociological debt to
developing countries.
Rev. Mosweu Simane - Chairperson
Bishop Geoff Davies - Committee Member
[email protected]
[email protected]
Members
 SAFCEI, the Southern African Faith Communities Environment
Institute
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 EJN, the Economic Justice Network with FOCCISA, the
Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa.
 DC of C, the Diakonia Council of Churches
 IPACC, the Indigenous People of Africa Co-ordinating
Committee
 National Council of Churches in Southern Africa:
o Botswana Council of Churches
o Council of Churches in Tanzania
o Council of Churches in Zambia
o Council of Churches in Zimbabwe
o Conselho de Igrejas Cristãs em Angola / Christian Churches
Council in Angola
o Conselho Cristão DE Moçambique
o South Africa Council of Churches
 The Pretoria Office - Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Church of
Sweden (COS) and Christian Aid (CA UK)
 KZN IRC Kwazulu Natal Interreligious Council
 WCRLF, Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum
Participation Institutions
 Christian Aid - Malawi
3|We Have Faith – Act Now For Climate Justice - Statement