Religious leaders urged world leaders to take environmental protection seriously
Religious leaders from all across the world have urged world leaders to take immediate environmental action. They made the call following a meeting on October 4, 2021, at the Pope’s (head of Catholicism) palace in Vatican City.
Religious leaders worldwide issued the call ahead of the United Nations-sponsored Conference of the Parties (COP) – 26 summits on environmental challenges, which will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12, 2021.
Pope Francis invited Sunni and Shia Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and other Christian communities, including Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Taoists, to speak at a meeting themed “Faith and Science, a call to COP 26” earlier on Wednesday. Jains were among the forty religious leaders who visited the Vatican.
The conference called on religious leaders worldwide, saying, “we have got this beautiful garden (earth) inheritably. It would be unfair if we left it as desert for our future generation.”
Meanwhile, they urged international leaders to take adequate steps to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). They also urged affluent countries to provide “essential financial help” to climate-vulnerable countries, as they contribute the majority of global greenhouse gases.
Despite Pope Francis being slated to speak at the event, he only issued a quick remark thanking everyone for responding to his appeal.
“I urge all young people, regardless of religion or caste, to be ready to fight against any action that affects the environment or generates a climate crisis,” said Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, who attended the meeting.
Rajwant Singh, a Sikh leader from the United States, remarked. “Let us contemplate, Water is a father, the air is a teacher, and the world is a mother of us all,” Why should we disrespect this gift from our Creator if we cannot disrespect our mothers, fathers, and teachers?’
“It will have to be remembered that the current environmental disaster was caused by the drive to gain and the unjust accumulation of money,” Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Hilarion declared.
