Caritas report calls for new global ethic on climate change

Caritas is calling for a fresh approach to tackling climate change in a new report Climate Justice: Seeking a new global ethic. The harsh effects of climate change are already becoming a daily reality to poor communities in many of the 200 countries Caritas Internationalis works. It is undermining the humanitarian and development work of its 164 members and threatens to increase the number of emergencies in the future.

Climate Justice: Seeking a new global ethic goes beyond the science of climate change to focus on the ethical, moral and theological dimensions of the crisis. In view of the Copenhagen climate summit in December, the report urges governments to adopt an effective legal binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase financial and technological aid for poor countries so they can adapt to harsher climatic conditions. The report recognises that poor countries need support to be able to develop in a sustainable way that will not further impact climate change. Beyond Copenhagen, the report looks for seismic shifts in daily lifestyle patterns that will be central to combating climate change.

Caritas Internationalis President Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said, “The new report, Climate Justice: Seeking a new global ethic, develops clear moral arguments based on the Bible and Catholic Social Teaching that seek to transcend narrow personal and national interests in favour of the common good and that will drive political and social action.

“UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December will offer a once in a generation opportunity for world leaders to take the necessary action to respond to climate change challenges. The science and economics of what must be done are clear, but for any new deal to be a success it must lead to more moderate lifestyles for us all.

Report highlights: The suffering that is already taking place as a result of extreme weather events; theological, moral and ethical arguments relating to climate change; how the devastating effects of climate change are being dealt with; what Caritas Internationalis is calling for at the global level, regional level, national level and individual level to campaign for real and effective change.

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