Friday marked the start of a Global Week of Action for Climate Finance & A Fossil Free Future! It is organised by the Climate Justice Coalition which is supported by Catholic groups – including CAFOD, Columban Missionaries, and the National Justice and Peace Network.
Activists kicked off the week 13th-20th September with a first-thing-in-the-morning banner drop on Westminster Bridge, beside the Westminster Parliament. Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology was represented. The huge banner read #ENDFOSSILFUELS and #FastFairForever.
The news was welcomed later in the morning, that planning permission for the proposed new Whitehaven Coal Mine in Cumbria was quashed in the High Court in London. Whitehaven would have been the UK’s first deep coal mine in over 30 years and campaigners felt it was crucial in the fight to end fossil fuels – the key driver of climate change – that this did not go ahead. It was accidental that the news coincided with the Global Day of Action!
Other peaceful actions are taking place across the UK during the week. All are calling for an end to investment in Fossil Fuels and investing instead in ethical alternatives. Also, supporting the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
An online rally with the organisers on the 11th September highlighted that climate violence is being amplified globally. Somalia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, India, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Malaysia topped the list of countries that suffered the largest displacement of people from floods and droughts over the past 18 months. There was a call for maintaining a vision of hope, for political leadership on climate action and for significant climate finance.
Tasneem Essop of the Climate Action Network dialled in from South Africa to talk about the global campaign. She reported that 100 cities in 50 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the U.S. are involved in climate initiatives this week. More than 150 events, spanning the 50 countries, are calling on governments to urgently implement a fast, fair and funded phase-out of fossil fuels to prevent more climate catastrophe.
Pope Francis, during his recent trip to Asia and Oceania, urged action on climate change. And his 2015 environment encyclical, Laudato Si’,
flagged up the issue as an important issue addressed by Catholic Social Teaching.
The Columban Missionaries in Britain have been vocal advocates on issues related to climate injustice. Their perspective is rooted in their faith-based commitment to social justice, the protection of God’s creation, and the defence of vulnerable communities, especially those disproportionately affected by climate change.
