Bishops Statement on Climate Change
By Anglican Bishops of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia : Tuesday 4th April 2006
Together with the Social Justice Commissioner for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, The Rev Anthony Dancer, we offer the following statement:
Climate change is a real and present danger to the future of this planet and the survival of the species. We welcome the recent conference on Climate Change and Governance as one opportunity for the thinking that needs to be done about the relationship between science and policy. We do this because of our belief about the care of God’s creation and the sacred integrity of the earth.
We wish to affirm this church’s support for the exploration and cross party development of policy measures to that seek to address, contain and limit the extent and impact of climate change. We believe this development needs to explore both containment and reduction strategies, and that all parties must work together on reducing climate change in recognition that this is a long term problem effecting us all, and solutions cannot afford to be compromised by the electoral cycle.
We emphasise the important role local governments and local communities play in addressing climate change, and emphasise this church’s commitment to creating and cooperating with initiatives at a local level that seek to contain and reduce the impact of climate change and our part in it as human beings.
We are a part of our environment, and have the power to change it for good or ill. Our country and all that is in it needs to be managed and cared for, to prevent any plundering of our ecological base. Ethics and the environment are closely linked. Therefore, we are opposed to political and economic initiatives which would further contribute negatively to climate change and the needless destruction of our environment. We wish, with many others across our nation, to help build solutions to the crisis that humanity has created for itself.
As bishops, we are now committed to commending a policy of carbon neutrality, and for the sake of us all we call upon governments, local governments, businesses and faith communities to work together in this important area to both contain and reduce climate change.
Signed:
Archbishop Whakahuihui Vercoe
+ Jabez Bryce
+ George Connor
+ David Moxon
+ Philip Richardson
+ Winston Halapua
+ Richard Randerson
+ Derek Eaton
+ David Coles
+ Tom Brown
+ Apimeleki Qiliho
+ Muru Walters
+ John Bluck
+ Kitohi Pikaahu
+ Brown Turei
+ John Gray
+ Gabriel Sharma
Bishop John Paterson is overseas at the time of this statement.
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