Tag: Environment

A diverse group of 40 signatories representing Western Australian health professionals, religious leaders, farmers, renewable industry experts, environmentalists and unions have launched a joint statement calling on all parties leading into the WA elections to provide decisive action against climate change. The Uniting Church WA is among them.

The coalition wants WA to become a renewable energy superpower and says the government must commit to rapidly transitioning the state to renewables.

An online petition has also been launched calling on the community to demand action from their candidates.

Professor Fiona Stanley says Western Australia has the economic and technical capacity to lead in the transition to renewables.

“We just need the political will to do so,” she said.

“Fossil fuels are a major contributor to air pollution, which is now close to tobacco as a leading cause of death globally.”

In an effort to become more sustainable, Uniting Church in the City (UCIC) has undertaken a number of projects to increase their environmental sustainability and reduce their ecological impact.

UCIC general manager, Neil Starkie, explained that in July 2015, the church adopted a strategic plan that included new direction on sustainability and design. Since adopting the plan, UCIC have engaged in three initiatives to address their sustainability.

One of these initiatives is the upcoming installation of a 65 cell solar array on the tallest building in the Wesley Quarter. The solar array has been made possible with the help of a small scale technology certificate rebate. The project is expected to reach completion by 31 December. The array will account for 5% of the energy for the largest building in the Quarter.

The president of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, has united with world religious leaders to call on governments to take urgent action on climate change.

Twenty senior Australian religious leaders have joined the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pakistani grand imam Maulana Khabir Azad and more than 250 of their international counterparts to sign the Interfaith Climate Change Statement.

Other Australian signatories include the presidents of the Australian Hindu and Imams councils, the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils and the National Council of Churches in Australia.

The interfaith statement says governments must urgently ratify the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement and reduce emissions to stop global temperature rise. It urges the swift phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies and the acceleration of renewable energy investment to limit global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C above industrial levels.

The statement was handed to the UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft in New York on 19 April, as government representatives, including Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Hunt, prepare to officially sign up to the Paris Climate Agreement.