Prepared for delivery at Faith for Nature: Multi-Faith Action Global Conference
H.E. Guðni Th. Johannesson, President of Iceland
Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General for Religions for Peace
Excellencies, Faith-leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen
At this time, unimaginable just a few months ago, we are living through a crisis of global proportions that is the consequence of our carelessness with stewardship of the Earth, which was granted to us. The stewardship to which I refer is, of course, to take care of planet Earth – our one and only home.
But humanity’s grey and dirty development path is systematically snipping the strands of the glorious and complex web of nature. Each snip on its own is a tragedy: the end of a species or ecosystem. Taken together, they are threatening to collapse the entire fragile web of life on Earth as we know it.
COVID-19 has brought this truth home, hard. A tiny virus has dragged our societies and economies to their knees. A virus that is, like many other zoonotic diseases transmitted between animals and humans, part and parcel of the three planetary crises we face: the climate crisis, the nature and biodiversity crisis, and the pollution and waste crisis.
We are facing these crises because nature has become a commodity; the atmosphere, the land and the oceans our dumping ground. For decades we have produced, consumed and thrown away at the expense of the natural world – even after we learned of the damage we were doing.
But nature is humanity’s biggest ally, providing the basic ingredients for not just our prosperity, but for our very existence. Prioritizing nature’s conservation and recovery is essential to the health of people and economies. This is why those solutions through which we invest in, protect, regenerate and wisely use nature’s bounty for our own wellbeing are so important. Because when we do so we protect our climate, our land, our waterways and our oceans. We secure a common future.
But too often we forget that protecting nature is not only about us. We also have a moral duty to protect and use wisely the planet, its bounty and every living being on it. This is a duty that is integral to every faith and belief system, which all agree that nature is an act of divinity that should be treated as such by humans, with a sense of the stewardship bestowed upon us.
Nor do faiths preach self-enrichment or egotism. Faiths call for selflessness. For humility. For love. For respect. For nurturing. And for transformation. These are values that our planet, and the poor and vulnerable who suffer most from environmental degradation, need more than ever now, our support.
For all of these reasons, people of faith, and those who lead them, have an imperative to act. Faith leaders and communities hold the power to transform our world. We see four areas of action in which we hope faith leaders can make the difference.
One, faith leaders can influence the behaviour of billions of people. Two, faith leaders can use the assets of their faith community to finance and drive a green transition. Three, faith leaders can prioritize nature in the many humanitarian programmes they run. Four, faith leaders can amplify their impact by working across borders and across faiths.
Let us, together, explore how we can make a difference in each of these areas.
Embed environmental science in teachings to increase nature-positive behaviour.
Faiths and beliefs give our lives purpose and meaning. Faith provides a moral path to follow, sifts good from evil, defines right and wrong. Environmental science does not undermine any of these core beliefs. Science simply tells us what we can do to live in harmony with the moral imperatives of faiths that teach love and respect for all living things.
Science tells us how moving to clean energy can reduce the emissions that are warming our planet. Science tells us how conserving and restoring nature can strengthen the life support systems upon which humanity relies. Science tells us how moving to circular models of production and consumption that sustainably use scarce resources will give the planet, and all of the diverse creatures it contains, a chance to thrive.
Faith and science are not mutually exclusive. The pandemic showed that faith leaders understand this. When the science called for lockdowns and social distancing, houses of worship across the world made the sacrifice and closed their doors.
So, I urge all faith leaders: embed environmental science in your teachings. In churches, in mosques, in synagogues, in temples, in schools and in universities. Rely on science, wisdom and learning, not on disinformation. Encourage youth to demand better of their leaders. Drive home the message to the faithful that how we live is destroying the work of creation and that we have the power to turn this around. Ask the faithful to reduce their waste. Choose green forms of transport. Shift diets. Put money into investments that support our collective vision of a fairer, more sustainable future.
Many faithful own or run businesses, large and small. Remind these business owners that their duty to care for nature applies in their business practices too – for it is often the pursuit of short-term profit that causes long-term damage to nature.
Faith-based organizations wield great influence across much of the world’s population. They must use it.
Green the assets you manage.
As important as it is to preach behaviour change, faith-based organizations can be the change themselves by greening the many and varied assets they own.
Faith-based investment institutions are the fourth-largest economic power on the planet. Meanwhile, the climate, nature and pollution agendas are dismally underfunded. Faith-based organizations must divest from dirty energy and put their wealth into investments that back a green and nature positive future. Over 40 faith-based organizations, with over one billion dollars in assets, have already committed to divestment. But that is not enough. The economic power of faiths, turned to responsible investments and the green economy, can be a major driver of positive change as we recover better from the pandemic.
Faith-based organizations own bricks and mortar across the world too. There are over 100 million houses of worship, not to mention countless schools and universities. Green building principles must be applied to reduce the impact of those already in place and those yet to be built, from installing green roofs for natural cooling to switching to renewable energy to making buildings more energy efficient.
Faith-based organizations own over five per cent of the world’s commercial forests, making faith-based organizations important players in conservation. But it is not just about what faiths own. It is about giving the faiths and practices of indigenous peoples the space to operate. According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), land owned, managed, used or occupied by indigenous peoples is better managed than in other lands. This is why UNEP is proud to coordinate the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative. This initiative empowers indigenous people to manage their lands in five countries, which contain 70 per cent of the world’s remaining rainforests.
Provide nature-based solutions to socio-economic challenges through your work.
Faith provides practical support to billions of people, especially in times of crisis. We are seeing this in action during the pandemic as faith-based organizations around the world offer support, food, housing, donations and medical services. Such charitable work is an important and admirable tenet of all faiths.
But environmental degradation is also an issue of inequality. It is the poor and less fortunate who suffer the most from pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. Every effort to reduce the environmental impact of faith-based organizations will help. So will sustainable and nature-based solutions, implemented on the ground through charitable endeavours.
Establish networks that make us stronger together.
To return to my earlier point, faiths are about the collective, not the individual. Congregations unite to raise their voices in worship, to help those in need, to feel a sense of community and belonging. Such collectivism is also the founding principle of the United Nations, which this year celebrates the 75th anniversary of uniting nations for a common goal.
Intra and Interfaith collaboration brings out the best each faith can offer and ensures peace and prosperity. Promoting such collaboration is a large part of the reason this conference is taking place. Establishing the proposed Faith for Earth Coalition will bring faith organizations together, and create partnerships with intergovernmental organizations, states and other stakeholders, a powerful coalition for a sustainable tomorrow.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Faith is one of the most compelling drivers of human behaviour. Faith has shaped our world for millennia. The environmental movement is still young, which may explain why we have not fully tapped into collaboration with the power of faith to protect our common home, planet Earth. But we are no longer dealing in millennia. Humanity has, at most, decades to implement the systemic change needed to head off the environmental catastrophe of climate change.
It is time to focus the full transformative power of faith, the love, the respect and the wisdom inherent in its teachings, onto creating a greener, fairer and more sustainable world.
Thank you.
Executive Director
