News Archives » climate change
Faith-Based Investors Urging Bold Action with Companies on Climate Change July 26th, 2013
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) recently released a white paper on engagement with the energy sector to address the serious risks posed by rapidly rising levels of CO² in the atmosphere. The paper is, in large part, a response to the fossil fuel divestment campaign coordinated by 350.org, and serves to lay out a range of responses open to concerned investors in response to the looming climate crisis.
Read: Insights for Investors Working for Bolder Intervention on Climate Change
Four energy policies can keep the 2 °C climate goal alive June 17th, 2013
An International Energy Association report shows how to stop growth in energy-related emissions by 2020 at no net economic cost. The Missionary Oblates engage oil and gas companies on the need for emissions reductions, and this report is a useful tool in that work.Warning that the world is not on track to limit the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency (IEA)* has urged governments swiftly to enact four energy policies that would keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth.
“Climate change has quite frankly slipped to the back burner of policy priorities. But the problem is not going away – quite the opposite,” according to IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. The IEA’s World Energy Outlook Special Report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, highlights the need for intensive action before 2020.
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Fr. Darrell Rupiper, OMI – In Remembrance May 8th, 2013
“Heaven and earth are full of your glory.” This is the psalm response for today’s Mass, and was the title given by Fr. Darrell Rupiper, OMI to his seminar/retreat programs. Fr. John Cox wrote us to say that he offered Mass this morning in loving memory of Darrell, who passed away on February 10, 2009.
Remembering his life-giving spirit, Fr. Cox has shared these materials:
- The Great Work – one of Darrell’s group discussion handouts
- Tell the People I Love Them – song Darrell would teach the people (notes for guitar)
- Earth Care – The handout Darrell often gave at the end of a session, practical things people can do.
Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory. In memory of Darrell, please join us in being consciously aware of God in creation today, and doing some action that reverences the earth and promotes public awareness.
Climate Change: A Priority for the Holy See January 24th, 2013
Since 2009, Pope Benedict XVI has explicitly supported the idea of an international treaty through the United Nations to address climate change. The Holy Father has offered this support in his 2009 Message to the Climate Change Summit, 2010 Message to the Diplomatic Corps, and his Angelus on November 27, 2011.
For 2013, it appears that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will make an international agreement a top priority as well. According to the Associated Press, one of his chief concerns in 2013 will be securing a binding international agreement to address climate change: Climate change is fast happening – much, much faster than one would have expected [. . .] Climate and ecosystems are under growing strain [. . .] I will do my best to mobilise the political will and resources so that the member states can agree to a new legally binding global agreement on climate change.
Climate Change is a priority for the U.S. President as well…
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America Magazine Examines Climate Change November 29th, 2012
A November 19, 2012 editorial in America magazine examines the issue of climate change. The editors note that “Hurricane Sandy was the latest in a series of extreme weather events that the overwhelming majority of scientists say is related to global climate change.” They go on to say that, “The decision not to address climate change at all in the presidential campaign now seems foolish. Both Republicans and Democrats deserve blame for this state of events . . . Until climate change is seen as an issue that affects all Americans, indeed the entire international community, we will fail to make progress in addressing its effects. Climate change is an issue that is vital to the common good and should be treated as such…”
“…Here is where the Catholic community can help. In an address in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that climate change is not a political issue but a human one . . . That same year, the U.S. bishops helped launch the Catholic Climate Covenant to bring climate change to the attention of all people of faith. The church directs our attention to where it should be focused: on the poor, who suffer the ravages of climate change more than anyone else.”
“In conclusion”, the editors at America say, “Climate change is an issue that transcends borders and demands an international response. The United States can and should play a key leadership role in this effort. Perhaps, moved by the plight of the storm’s victims and prompted by a renewed commitment from people of faith, it will finally assume that responsibility.”
Learn more on climate change and global warming at Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
