In a joint letter to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D - Calif), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, four major religious coalitions, representing millions of Americans, welcomed the work of lawmakers to highlight the urgency of global warming and take immediate action to address it. The National Council of Churches, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Association of Evangelicals and Jewish Council For Public Affairs/ Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), emphasized some of the bill's key provisions regarding international security and climate change adaptation strategies. The letter describes the bill as "a significant step" toward protecting the "voiceless and the vulnerable."
Read the full text of the letter below:
December 3, 2007
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
Chairman
Environment and Public Works Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Boxer:
As you and your colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee prepare to consider the Lieberman/Warner Climate Security Act of 2007, we welcome these efforts to raise the issue of global climate change to a new level of urgency. Your deliberations are crucial and will inevitably shape the future of U.S. leadership. We offer our prayers for this challenging yet critical undertaking.
Major faith groups across a broad denominational and ideological spectrum have reached a religious and moral consensus on the need for effective action to curb global climate change. As we consider the moral and human dimensions of global climate change, we rely on Scripture, which states that we are to care especially for the most vulnerable among us. We have reached the deep conviction that any legislation passed by Congress must work to protect those who contribute the least to climate change from suffering the worst of its consequences.
We strongly urge you to adopt policies aimed at addressing global climate change that have as an essential element effectively addressing the needs of people in poverty and vulnerable populations here in the United States and abroad. We urge that the Lieberman/Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 provide effective help to those who live in poverty in our nation so that they will not experience increased energy costs.
We specifically urge you to support as a priority Sections 4801-4804, which address international security and adaptation. Without sufficient support, many poorer countries will not have the resources to address floods, droughts, disease and the other impacts of climate change. More importantly, the physical, social, economic and political disruptions caused by climate change could lead to great suffering and harm the common good of those societies and the broader global community.
This legislation offers an opportunity for the United States to provide critical leadership for the human family, enabling us to deal with the challenge of global climate change in a timely and equitable way.
A fundamental moral principle for our faith communities is to protect the voiceless and the vulnerable. We believe that this legislation is a significant step toward providing this protection.
Sincerely,
Reverend Michael Livingston
President, National Council of Churches
Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Bishop of Orlando
Chairman, International Policy Committee
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Reverend Richard Cizik
Vice-President for Governmental Affairs
National Association of Evangelicals
Rabbi Steve Gutow
Executive Director
Jewish Council For Public Affairs/ Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
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 LetterofSupportEPW.pdf | 49.05 KB |