ACTION ALERT!
Poor people contribute least to the causes, but will suffer most from the effects of climate change:
Urge your members of Congress to significantly increase funding for international adaptation programs in climate change legislation
Send your message now!
Take Action Now! Contact your members of Congress now and urge them to significantly increase the amount allocated for international adaptation programs in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 at the outset and at a faster pace over time so that people living in poverty around the world can be protected from the effects of climate change.
Why is action important now? The House of Representatives will soon vote on climate change legislation that begins a serious and overdue effort to face up to our moral and environmental challenges. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) want to ensure that this legislation lowers greenhouse gases and protects the poor and vulnerable—both at home and abroad—who contribute least to climate change but are likely to suffer its worst consequences.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 includes several provisions that CRS and USCCB generally support:
- Helps ensure that low-income individuals and families in the U.S. are not disproportionately affected by any potential rise in energy prices resulting from the legislation.
- Assists not-for-profit, community and faith-based institutions including houses of worship to become more energy efficient.
- Puts in place mechanisms to provide adaptation assistance for poor and vulnerable populations internationally.
However, CRS and USCCB are deeply disappointed that the funding resources committed to international adaptation fall fundamentally short of what is needed initially and that increases in resources are pushed too far off into the future. In a recent letter to the House of Representatives, Howard Hubbard, Bishop of Albany and Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Ken Hackett, President of CRS, stated: “We urge that as the legislation moves forward both in the House and in the Senate, the amount allocated to international adaptation be increased significantly at the outset and at a faster pace over time. These increases would help meet the initial needs of people living in poverty in the most vulnerable developing nations. Expanded resources would also send a strong message of the U.S. commitment to securing a global treaty by providing a substantial down payment for international adaptation funding.”
What does climate change have to do with my Catholic faith? The Catholic Church brings a distinct perspective to the debate about climate change by lifting up the moral dimensions of caring for God’s creation and the needs of the most vulnerable among us. Our Catholic faith calls on us to uphold the life and dignity of the human person by alleviating human suffering and promoting justice and solidarity worldwide.
The Catholic bishops’ primary concern is to place the needs of the poor and vulnerable at the center of climate legislation. Poor people should not bear an undue burden of the impacts of climate change or the global adjustments needed to address it. To learn about Catholic teaching on climate change read the June 2001 statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good.
How is the Catholic Church confronting the effects of climate change? The Church’s efforts promote prudent action to address the growing impact of global climate change and to pursue the common good in a very polarized debate. CRS has already witnessed the tragic consequences of climate change in the daily lives of people living in poverty. CRS is working diligently to help communities adapt to the consequences of climate change and mitigate its effects through health, agriculture, water, and emergency preparedness programs, and its relief and development efforts in 100 countries.
Through the Catholics Confront Global Poverty initiative, USCCB and CRS are mobilizing one million Catholics to learn, pray and act in support of policies that will help address the effects of climate change on poor people worldwide. USCCB and CRS are also members of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change (CCCC) that invites Catholics to join the Catholic Climate Covenant and stand with people living in poverty facing the worst impacts of climate change.
For more information contact:
Cecilia Calvo, USCCB Environmental Justice Program Coordinator: 202-541-3188, ccalvo@usccb.org
Tina Rodousakis, Grassroots Advocacy Manager, 410-951-7462, trodousa@crs.org
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