Monday 1 June 2009

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has encouraged Catholics to take action on climate change as part of their faith commitment.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that caring for the Earth and its resources is an important part of our Christian responsibility.

The call was made with the approach of World Environment Day on 5 June.

“We must take the threat of dangerous climate change seriously,” Mr Arndt said.

“It is very easy to create doubt in people’s minds and, unfortunately, that is exactly what a number of very vocal climate change skeptics have been doing,” he said.

“It is simply not sensible to embrace the views of a handful of scientists challenging the reality of accelerated climate change  and to dismiss the collective views of several thousand climate scientists from around the world who have assessed all the data and say that climate change is happening and is a serious threat,” he said.

“Too often, we hear the skeptics pointing to limited evidence to support their case and we do not hear the substantial counter arguments from eminent climate scientists,” he said.

“With so many eminent climate scientists supporting the case for accelerated and dangerous climate change on the basis of a wealth of scientific evidence, it is prudent for us to take action now as individuals, as a country and as a global community,” he said.

“If the  scientific evidence is right, there is no time to waste,” he said.

“We have a moral responsibility to take action now to protect the interests of future generations and the whole planet,” he said.

“To ignore these predictions, based on so much scientific evidence and supported by so many climate scientists, risks leaving our grandchildren and great- grandchildren with a truly awful legacy,” he said.

“one of the greatest obstacles to action on climate change is that it requires significant changes in the way we do things as individuals and as a society,” he said.

“But we know that we can deal with change if it is needed,” he said.

“Look at the magnificent way in which people in South-East Queensland accepted the need for change when we faced a serious water crisis in the last few years,” he said.

“We cannot afford to wait for ten or twenty years to see if the climate change models of scientists start to come true because we will have gone too far down the track by then,” he said.

“We encourage Catholics to make an effort to look at all the scientific evidence and not just the limited information put forward by a handful of scientists or by others who deny the reality of  climate change,” he said.

“When people see the overwhelming evidence presented by so many respected scientists, we believe that they will seek out information on what can be done by individuals to address the threat of dangerous climate change,” he said.

“And more and more people will add their voices to those calling for governments to act quickly and effectively on climate change,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB  This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right.  The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.