New website brings into focus interfaith perspectives on climate change!

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07 August 2014

Plans are advancing for the Interfaith Summit on Climate Change, to be held in New York from 21 to 22 September. A new website featuring interfaith perspectives on climate change, highlighting the upcoming summit, has recently gone online.

The website, which was developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Religions for Peace, intends to offer a variety of faith-based perspectives on climate while encouraging people to get involved in addressing climate change issues.

The site (http://www.interfaithclimate.org), currently featuring the upcoming Interfaith Summit on Climate Change, will also focus in future on the interfaith voices in advance of the COPS 21 climate change meetings to be held in Paris in December, 2015.

In addition to information about the upcoming summit, the site also offers videos, documents and suggested ways to get involved.

“A new video we posted recently and called The Green Mosque is a compelling story of a young Muslim woman in Cape Town, South Africa who is working with her community to increase awareness about the environment and its impact on climate change,” said WCC director of communication, Mark Beach.

“The site is meant to increase awareness about climate change from a religious and faith-based perspective,” Beach said. “People of faith have something to say about climate change, such as Mariam, interviewed in The Green Mosque video, showing that they understand the issue and there are things within their own community that can be done. Her work is inspiring.”

There is also a video featuring perspectives from the local community and churches in Tuvalu about the rising of sea levels and what it means to this small Pacific Atoll. The webpages will continue to be enriched with new materials in the coming weeks.

The Interfaith Summit on Climate Change is part of a global effort to mobilize people and communities on the issue of climate change. Some 30 religious leaders will gather for the two-day summit where the involvement of indigenous peoples and youth will be vital.

In attendance will be leaders from various spiritual traditions such as Christian (including Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox), Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Brahma Kumaris, Indigenous and multi-spiritual.

The summit will convey the concern of faith communities around the world regarding the proposals of the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Summit, taking place one day later on 23 September at the UN in New York.

Website: http://interfaithclimate.org/reflections

Minute on Climate Justice adopted by the WCC 10th Assembly

WCC’s work on climate justice and care for creation

EPA Takes Moral Action to Cut Carbon Pollution from Power Plants

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Published: June 2, 2014

President Obama and the EPA today acted on our moral obligation to address unlimited carbon pollution coming from the nation’s power plants, the single largest source of global warming pollution in the country. The new standards will help usher in clean energy solutions like improved efficiency and solar power: things that Interfaith Power & Light congregations have been using in their facilities for years to reduce emissions and save money. Emerging wind and solar companies have been in a David and Goliath struggle against the well-funded coal and gas industries. By requiring a 30% reduction in carbon pollution from power plants by 2030, the standards will create a dynamic move toward cleaner energy. IPL and its 40 state affiliates reaching 15,000 congregations strongly support the EPA’s important action.

The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham, President and Founder of Interfaith Power & Light, has issued the following statement:

“We applaud this landmark action that comes at a pivotal time when more people than ever have recognized the threat to their health and safety from unregulated pollution. These rules will safeguard our communities, our climate, and our children’s future.

As people of faith called to care for God’s people and Creation, especially the most vulnerable, we have a moral obligation to address the profound impacts of the way we use energy.

In addition to protecting our climate, curbing pollution from power plants offers many important benefits, including saving lives and reducing health risks to those suffering from heart disease and respiratory ailments such as asthma.”

Contact: Susan Stephenson (415) 561-4891 susan@theregenerationproject.org

The Climate Reality Project

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The Climate Reality Project

WHAT DOES CLIMATE CHANGE MEAN FOR NEW MEXICO?

Climate Change and the Southwest

  • • The Southwestern United States has warmed in recent decades, experiencing fewer cold snaps and more heat waves.
  • • Earlier springs and warmer summers are having significant negative impacts on streams and rivers in the Western U.S. by decreasing stream-flow and/or reducing overall availability of water in summer.
  • • There has been a significant, increasing trend in the number of dangerous large wildfires and/or total large fire burn area over the Western U.S. since 1984. One analysis suggests that wildfire seasons in this vulnerable region are now two and a half months longer than they were 40 years ago.

New Mexico – Observed Climate Change Impacts

  • Temperatures in the Upper Rio Grande River basin are increasing at a rate of roughly 0.7° F per decade, contributing to an average warming of 2.5 ° F since 1971. Mountains have shown a higher rate of temperature rise when compared to lower elevations.
  • Wildfire and bark beetles have killed trees in approximately 20 percent of New Mexico forests.
  • Increased temperatures, reduced snowpack, earlier spring thaws, and streamflow changes as a result of climate change have created conditions more conducive to wildfire.

 New Mexico – Projected Climate Change Impacts

  • Temperatures in the state may rise another four to six degrees by the end of the 21st Century.
  • Changes in precipitation are expected, particularly if carbon pollution emissions go unabated. Projections show New Mexico may experience significant precipitation declines, especially in spring.
  • Climate change is expected to decrease water availability in the Upper Rio Grande River basin.

 What Has New Mexico Started Doing About It?

State Actions Toward Emissions Reductions

  • In 2010, New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board enacted into law a climate plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2020 to 25 percent below 1990 levels.
  • New Mexico is one of 29 states that together with the District of Columbia have a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) mandating that a certain percentage of the state’s power come from clean energy.
  • Under the RPS, investor-owned utilities (IOU) in the state are required to obtain 20 percent of their electricity sales from renewable sources by 2020, while rural electric cooperatives must obtain 10 percent by 2020. In addition, IOUs must get a minimum amount of electricity from wind and solar.

Renewable Energy in the State

  • Over the last ten years, renewable energy has expanded significantly, from providing roughly one percent of New Mexico’s electricity to nearly eight percent in 2013.
  • Nearly all this growth has come from the construction of 11 wind farms throughout the state, although solar energy has also begun to contribute to the state’s electricity mix in the past four years.
  • The state has tremendous renewable energy resources. If fully used, wind could provide roughly 39 times the state’s annual electricity needs, and solar could meet that demand 900 times over.

Wind Power

  • At the end of 2013, there were 778 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity installed in New Mexico — enough to power more than 275,000 average New Mexican homes. Another 318 MW of capacity is also currently under construction. Unlike electricity generated from coal or natural gas, wind farms use almost no water to generate electricity and emit almost no carbon dioxide emissions. Over the course of a year, wind farms in New Mexico save more than 470 million gallons of water, and the carbon pollution avoided is equal to taking nearly 230,000 cars off the road.

Solar Power

  • Solar energy development in the state has made great strides since 2010 (when it was negligible), and now ranks 10 th in the United States with 236 MW of installed solar energy capacity.
  • This development has resulted in 1,900 people employed by the solar industry and $131 million invested in solar installations in 2013. Investment in solar is expected to continue to grow.
  • New Mexico ranks 2nd in the United States in terms of solar energy potential, bested only by Texas.

Energy Efficiency

  • The Efficient Use of Energy Act of 2008 requires the state’s investor-owned utilities to reduce electricity sales to five percent below 2005 levels by 2014, and 10 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

 

Click the link to download a PDF version: 2014 05 21 Climate Reality Project Fact Sheet_NEW MEXICO Climate Impacts and Solutions FINAL

© 2014 The Climate Reality Project.

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