Caritas report calls for new global ethic on climate change

|PIC1|Caritas Internationalis said the harsh effects of climate change were already a daily reality to poor communities in many of the 200 countries where it works. This, it warns, is undermining the humanitarian and development work of its 164 members and threatens to increase the number of emergencies in the future.

The new report - ‘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.

Ahead 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 also 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 believes that seismic shifts in daily lifestyle patterns 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.”

Writing the report’s forward, Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, cited the recent encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI - 'Caritas in Veritate' - in which the Pope defines solidarity as “first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone”. To desire the common good and strive towards it, he adds, “is a requirement of justice and charity”.

“Victory over climate change will come at a price, and the lion’s share of that price should rightly be paid by those who have benefitted most from the growth and development that is causing climate change,” she said.