Religious leaders from across the Judeo-Christian spectrum pressed Congress for climate change action on Wednesday. Their priority: ensuring government assistance for the poor, who are most likely to be affected by high energy prices and climate instability.
The Associated Press reports that representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Association of Evangelicals, National Council of Churches and the Union for Reform Judaism all descended on Washington, demanding that a Senate climate change bill be strengthened. The bill, proposed by Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) and currently in committee, allocates five percent of emissions-related revenues to the poor.
Religious groups want that number upped to 40 percent, and are also very serious about emissions cuts: Evangelical leader Richard Cizik
"said 84 percent of evangelicals support mandatory limits on greenhouse gases. He said it is not a matter of political persuasion but "of moral leadership.""
Seeing religious groups aligned this way could be the single most important political development on climate change. The days of party-line disagreement over the reality of climate change are over.
And what I'd really like to see is religious leaders adding clean energy research to their list of demands. Emissions cuts are important, but only half of the equation.
Religious Leaders Act on Climate Change [Associated Press]
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Image: Trinity College*
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