Faith communities have “vital role” to play in tackling climate change, says Nobel laureate

Faith communities have a “vital role” to play in helping to tackle climate change, a Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist has said just weeks before the start of the most important climate change summit in history in Copenhagen this December.

Professor Mohan Munasinghe – a world renowned authority on climate change and joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 – said faith had “everything to do” with helping to curb global warming and preserve the planet.

“Whatever religion you espouse… they all teach you values of fellowship and respect for others and it’s very important to build on that base. Moral values are very important [in tackling climate change]”, Munasinghe said.

He added that individuals must not underestimate the importance of taking “small steps” to reduce their carbon footprint. “There are many things you can do – plant a tree, use fluorescent light bulbs. This way you can build up momentum and influence your neighbours and friends to do the same”, Professor Munasinghe said.

Professor Munasinghe was in London to deliver a lecture about climate change and poverty, hosted by Catholic development agency Progressio. Addressing a 200-strong audience at London’s Royal Commonwealth Society on Monday evening, he said individuals and governments had to make stark choices about the way we live and how our economies should grow if our generation is to avert devastating climate change.

Highlighting the likely impact of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable, Professor Munasinghe said during his visit: “The losers are mainly the world’s poor, but it’s not only the millions who live in developing countries but also the poorest people in the rich countries. When an extreme [weather] event occurs, it is invariably the poor who get hammered.”

He added: “Over the next few decades if we have a situation where not only climate change, but all the other problems like energy shortages, growing water scarcity and food security come one after the other, the global system will not be able to contain it.”

In the worst case scenario, climate change could lead to a “breakdown situation…where the rich live in protected enclaves and the poor live outside in less desirable conditions. This is not the sort of world we want”, Professor Munasinghe said.

He called on rich nations to do more to curb their emissions and urged them to help poor countries adapt to the effects of a changing climate. He added that poor nations’ economies must be allowed to continue to develop, but must do so in a sustainable manner.

Download a copy of Professor Mohan's presentation and paper on sustainomics:

Professor Mohan presentation (3.8Mb PDF)

Paper on sustainomics (325k PDF)

Listen to Professor Mohan's answers to the key questions on climate change:

What can we do to tackle climate change and will individuals’ efforts make a difference? (734k MP3)

How should we tackle poverty and climate change together and why? (735kMP3)

What are your hopes for how the world might come together to tackle climate change? (777k MP3)

What keeps Professor Mohan motivated? (646k MP3)

Notes to Editors

High resolution images of last night’s event (19 October) which was held at London’s Royal Commonwealth Society are available for download: http://nfunk59.smugmug.com/Events/Progressio-AGM-2009-PRESS/10023864_5q5Yu#686316472_pP5DW.

The photos show Professor Mohan Munasinghe (pictures 1-3), journalist and broadcaster Edward Stourton, who chaired the event (picture 4) and Progressio’s Executive Director, Christine Allen (pictures 5 and 6). All credits to: Geoff Crawford / Progressio.

For further information please contact Progressio’s Media Officer, Jo Barrett on 07940 703911 or jo@progressio.org.uk
Professor Munasinghe shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) colleagues and Al Gore, for his efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change, and for laying foundations for the means to counteract it.

Progressio E-news

print this page

email to a friend