Harnessing faith for climate action

In the past, some religions and ideologies have ignored, or even refuted, the existence and effects of climate change, posing a barrier to climate action. But today many faith actors are becoming a driving force, and faith leaders say they would urge NGOs and development organizations in the climate space to engage with them further.

“We may not be the usual suspects, but do it,” said Rabbi Daniel Swartz, a spiritual leader and executive director at the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.

More than 80% of the global population identify as religious and, as trusted members of the community, faith leaders often have the potential to mobilize action amongst communities.

“There’s this notion that the environment is out there and something separate from humanity and one of the key roles faith can play in talking about environmental issues is to emphasize … the the environment is our home, there’s no separate realm, and that our destiny, health, and health of the planet is inextricably linked,” Swartz said.

Faith leaders are able to motivate people to think about their individual carbon footprint as well as that of faith institutions themselves, he added.

In 2005, 50 Jewish leaders signed the Jewish Environmental and Energy Imperative, committing an 83% reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by the Jewish community by 2050. In 2020, the Church of England altered its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for its operations by 2045 to 2030 while 47 faith institutions from 21 countries committed to divesting from fossil fuels.

Ahead of the formal acceptance of the Paris Agreement, many faiths — including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism — also issued their own declarations calling for “meaningful action” to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

‘One vegan dinner at a time won't cut it’

In recent years, there’s been a realization among multi-faith groups that “we can’t do a ‘one vegan dinner at a time’ approach to solving this crisis,” said Phil Aroneanu, chief strategy officer at Dayenu — an organization working to create a Jewish climate movement. Big bold solutions to jointly address justice inequity and climate are what’s needed, he added.

He’s not alone in his thinking.

Many faith-based organizations are working to tackle climate change on a big scale. EcoSikh helps cities in India adopt environmentally friendly pilgrimages. The Bhumi Project, a Hindu organization, develops long-term sustainable plans for environmental care and trains young people to become climate leaders. And Green Muslims connect volunteers to local climate action initiatives.

Many local FBOs also encourage tree planting, recycling, and river clean-ups while certain faiths automatically lend themselves to a greener way of life. Jainism, for example, encourages vegetarianism and avoidance of waste while Islam discourages excessive consumption of planetary resources.

The role of faith actors for climate action

Having worked predominantly with secular organizations, Aroneanu said sometimes tactical mechanisms suggested — such as contacting local representatives, protesting, and setting up meetings — to address climate change lack depth. This can lead to people “sliding in and out of the climate issue,” when instead they need to be engaged in a more meaningful way, he said. This is where faith can come in.

Faith groups have a history of speaking out on behalf of the oppressed and powerless; the environment is no different, Swartz said. In fact, he attributed the acknowledgment of the concept of environmental justice over the past few decades as being in part down to faith groups’ efforts.

“Faith groups really helped launch the environmental justice movement in America and we have continued to lift up social justice dimensions of environmental concerns,” he said.

As trusted figures, whether it’s talking about energy or plastic consumptions, faith leaders are able to convey a message to a large number of people and ignite action. In a papal encyclical letter in 2015, Pope Francis called climate change a moral issue to be addressed by everyone. The engagement and increased concern in global warming among Catholics that followed is often referred to as the “Francis Effect.”

Such reach is even more vital in hard-to-access areas.

“Wherever you go you will find a priest, imam, or monk and they’re doing great work in leading local communities so those can be great assets for NGOs and for government organizations in driving the sustainability issue forward,” said Iyad Abumoghli, director at the United Nations Environment Programme’s Faith for Earth project — which aims to inspire different faith organizations and leaders to advocate for environmental protection, to green FBOs’ investments and assets, and to provide knowledge and networks.

Aside from raising awareness and encouraging behavior change, leaders also have political clout and are often able to influence policy. In Scotland, faith leaders jointly played a role in pushing for the government’s adoption of a new climate change bill and, last year, faith leaders delivered a series of recommendations to the G-20. Swartz believes the Pope’s 2015 declaration also impacted the ability of nations to come to reach the Paris Agreement.

Calling it a “chief weapon,” Swartz said faith leaders’ ability to speak from terms of morality and justice can really make a difference, especially when it comes to tackling “moneyed interests” and larger conglomerate actions.

“What drives people is not a policeman watching and fining, it is their own moral responsibility and beliefs from harming the environment,” Abumoghli said.

How to work together

For NGOs and development organizations who have yet to partner with faith leaders and FBOs around climate action, Swartz encouraged them to acknowledge that in any building of new relationships there will be mistakes and cultural communication issues. Faith groups will work through their faith principles, and NGOs should get comfortable with the fact that it may be a different language to them, he said.

“It’s not asking the Sierra Club to pray. It’s a very different kind of thing and they’re going to be working out of their tradition, their religious texts to address this. If you’re comfortable with that different approach you can work together to the same ends,” he said. Being humble and patient as those relationships develop will help, he added.

Aroneanu emphasized the importance of bringing FBOs in as strategic partners and “not as an afterthought."

Historically, there’s been a misconception that FBOs will try to push a religious agenda, which may not match the environmental agenda, Abumoghli said. There can also be the belief that religious entities are rigid in their mentalities.

“This is not true at all because — working with FBOs from all religions — they are willing to listen, they are willing to introduce other concepts, and learn from other religions and NGOs on the successes that they can apply to their own work with local communities,” he said. There’s only one global agenda that needs to be understood and that is saving our Earth, he added.

With that united mission in mind, many FBOs take a joint faith approach, integrating the values and approaches of multiple faiths into climate action. The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development works to “promote inter-religious cooperation on environmental sustainability” and hosts interfaith environmental conferences, workshops, and seminars while training faith leaders on environmental issues and producing topical reports.

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment, founded 25 years ago, also works with four different groups to engage Jewish and Christian communities more actively into environmental issues.

Finally, faith communities will be able to engage more when they see the human face of an issue and can understand the justice implications, according to Swartz. “To the extent you can articulate problems in that way, you’re going to get more resonance in the faith community,” he said.

Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.