Climate change is a ‘spiritual crisis,’ says WCC

Montreal, Canada – A statement delivered to the UN climate change conference in Montreal has suggested that climate change is not only a technological, economic and ecological crisis but also a “spiritual one.”

The statement was delivered at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the First Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol by the World Council of Churches (WCC) climate change programme coordinator, Dr. David G. Hallman.

In 2001, US President George W. Bush pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, which binds about 40 industrial nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008–2012.

The Montreal talks are seeking ways to enlist both the United States and poor nations such as China and India in discussing ways to combat climate change beyond 2012.

The WCC statement may appeal to the Christian faith that the US President professes.

"We would like to light a candle" is how the World Council of Churches (WCC) statement began.

The statement, and the [non–fossil–fuel] candle, celebrated the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol, and evoked "the pain and disaster already suffered in various regions due to climate change". It also signaled that "time is running out" for negotiating equitable and sustainable targets for post–2012 when the present protocol expires.

The candle also symbolized "that what we suffer from is not simply a technological, economic or ecological crisis, but a spiritual crisis". It is for this reason that the statement includes a spiritual declaration on climate change drafted by faith community participants at the conference.

The WCC has been working on climate change ever since 1990, when this was identified by the scientific community as one of the most threatening social and ecological issues of our times, affecting creation as a whole.

Representatives from over 180 countries met in Montreal to negotiate the future of action on climate change. The talks were primarily about next steps in implementing the Kyoto Protocol, including resources needed by developing nations for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.