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The Statement recognised “In the Torah, we are commanded to serve and preserve the earth (Genesis 2:15), and our sages emphasise this teaching: “Be careful not to ruin and destroy My world, for if you ruin it, there will be no one else to fix it.” – Kohelet Rabbah 7:13”

Conducted online, the meeting, chaired by Elizabeth Stone, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia, reflected on the recent meeting convened by Pope Francis and attended by representatives of major world religions and looked at ways Australian religious representatives could further the important conversation. Bishop Phillip Huggins opened the meeting with a special reading for the upcoming COP-26 in Glasgow.

Presentations were then made by a Catholic nun, Rabbis Jacqueline Ninio, Ralph Genende and Jeffrey Kamins and by three  Muslim scholars.

Youth responses from Gabby Agosin and Alissa Foster of AUJS and Ryan Epondulan of the Columban Centre for Interreligious Dialogue followed, after which reflections came from the other participants.

The delegation appointed by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry was led by Jeremy Jones and in addition to the presenters named earlier included Frances Prince and Josie Lacey.

The Statement read:

“During October and November, the United Kingdom will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow (31 October – 12 November 2021). The COP26summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Around 200 countries will negotiate the challenge of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

As representatives of the three peak bodies today we affirm our common commitment to care for human life and the natural world. We share a belief in a hopeful future, as well as an obligation to be responsible in caring for our common home, the Earth. As people of faith we are grounded in our awareness of the sacredness of life, God’s presence in us and all around us.

In the Christian scriptures, we read that Jesus says of the birds of the air that “not one of them is forgotten before God” (Luke 12: 6). How then can we mistreat creation or cause it harm?

Before creating Adam God says (Qur’an 2:30): “I will make upon the earth a successive authority”. Then, as a reminder of the people’s act, God says (Qur’an 2:30) “Corruption has appeared in both land and sea because of what people’s own hands have brought so that they may taste something of what they have done so that hopefully they will turn back”

In the Torah, we are commanded to serve and preserve the earth (Genesis 2:15), and our sages emphasise this teaching: “Be careful not to ruin and destroy My world, for if you ruin it, there will be no one else to fix it.” – Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

It is time for the nations of the world to act together. These meetings will be critical for humanity’s collective future.

We look to our Australian government to work together with others to build a sustainable world where addressing climate change is not just an opportunity to stop burning fossil fuels, but also to achieve clean air and water, to reduce food wastage, to ensure a just and equitable sharing of the earth’s resources, and to protect the habitats we share with all other life on our planet and on whose health we depend.

We recognise that we must meet our responsibilities today if we, and future generations, are not to suffer the costs of our neglect in times to come.

Across our doctrinal and political differences, we know that we must change our ways to ensure a quality of life that all can share.