Comment - November 2009
Windsor reflections
The Shrinking the FootprintTask Group has been busy over recent months producing a faith commitment which was one of 30 presented at the Many Heavens, One Earth celebration at Windsor Castle.
The event, organised by the Alliance of Religion and Conservation and attended by His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Secretary-General of the United Nations along with 200 representatives from nine of the world's major faiths.
The celebration which included workshops, networking, presentations and the first vegetarian banquet ever to be held in the castle was attended by Muslim, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Daoist, Hindu, Jewish, Shinto and Sikh faiths. The commitments they presented are designed to help religions reduce their carbon footprint, including re-directing investments into energy-efficient projects and greening their followers' consumer preferences,
An overview of the CofE's commitment can be found (here....) It reviews what has been done and achieved over the past thirty years and details plans for the next seven years. It was presented by the Bishop of London and Brian Cuthbertson of the StF Task Group
The Grand Mufti of Egypt, speaking on behalf of some 200 Muslim leaders and scholars from Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco, Indonesia, Senegal and Turkey, introduced an initiative which aims to green major Islamic cities.
The Jewish, Sikh and Hindu plans call for new faith-based eco-labeling systems, for food, building materials and energy.
All religions set out plans to introduce extensive environmental education programmes. With around half of the world's schools associated with the faiths, the combined plans are targeting generational change on a global scale.
Addressing the meeting, Egypt's Mufti Ali Gomaa said Islam teaches followers to protect the environment, is a religious duty to safeguard our environment and advocate the importance of preserving it. Pollution and global warming pose an even greater threat than war and the fight to preserve the environment could be the most positive way of bringing humanity together".
Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, who arrived at the event only hours before having meetings in Afghanistan told the delegates in the Castle's Waterloo Room, ‘You can establish green religious buildings. Invest ethically in sustainable products. Purchase only environmentally-friendly goods. You can set an example for the lifestyle of billions of people.' Your practical commitments can encourage political leaders to act more courageously in protecting people and the planet'.
