Manifesto 33

An interfaith response to COP26 and the climate crisis

Our planet is in crisis. As people of faith, we believe that

• Everyone has a right to a healthy environment
• We must act right now at every level of our society
• We are part of nature, interconnected and dependent upon it
• Nature can regenerate itself if humans support this process

Our faiths demand we protect and preserve the earth’s resources and ecosystems, respect all life on earth, and live simply, avoiding greed and over consumption.

We recognise that the climate crisis and injustice are inextricably linked.
Inspired by faith and science we ask governments, businesses and all those in power to:

1. Learn from traditional ecological knowledge and the sustainable practices of indigenous communities; and to support Indigenous people’s land rights
2. Stop investment in and subsidy of all fossil fuel energy sources, and to make an urgent and just transition to renewable energy
3. Transform unsustainable food systems to prioritise local food production, the environment, human health, and animal welfare over profit
4. Work with communities and civil society to ensure that new jobs are created in a green economy 
5. Ensure COP26 agrees action that limits global warming to 1.5°C; and agrees a delivery plan for the $100 billion promised annually to the countries experiencing the worst loss and damage due to climate change
6. Urgently accelerate our work towards zero carbon emissions globally. The obligation on the global north to reach zero carbon emissions quickly is greatest.
7. Protect and restore the biodiversity of the land and the ocean, and to cease our dumping of hazardous waste into sea, land or air
8. Protect and restore the world’s forests and stop unnecessary deforestation

We hold ourselves to these standards and ask you to do likewise.