For More Information Contact For Immediate Release
Peter Wirth
pwirth2@verizon.net
315-476-3396
Climate Change Awareness and Action
www.climatechange-action.com
Religious Leaders of CNY Call For a Transition Off of Fossil Fuels
Earth Day, April 22 – Religious leaders representing over 400,000 people of faith across upper NY state signed on to a statement calling for a transition away from fossil fuels.
A zoom press conference announcing religious/faith leaders support for a transition off of of fossil fuels, why it is important we act now and steps proposed to reduce carbon emission in NYS to meet the goals of the C.L.C.P.A. will be held Monday, April 19 at 2 PM. See below for details on speakers and link.
Leaders of many faiths: Christian, Jewish, Muslim … including Native American leaders agree we need to start action now to fend off the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
This Earth Day the planet has warmed about 1.1. degree C (2 deg F) compared to pre-industrial times. Unless we take significant steps to reduce carbon emissions Earth will warm by 1.5 deg C this decade.
“The risks of hitting tipping points in the climate system become significant as we warm the Earth past 1.5 deg C with a real possibility of fundamentally changing the climate leading to runaway climate warming and disruption. This is a true, deep threat to human society.”, says Robert Howarth PhD, Cornell University
Given what a majority of the scientific community is saying Climate Change Awareness and Action solicited support from religious/faith leaders calling for the community in CNY to start planning to transition off of fossil fuels.
‘We hope this statement will spark a community wide discussion across political parties on the steps we need to take to ensure that future generations will have a world they can thrive in,” says Peter Wirth, CCAA
The NYS Climate Leadership Community Protection Act passed in 2020 mandates a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 . We need to start planning on the local level how we will reduce our carbon emissions in order to help the state meet its goal.
The following statement:
“Given the dangers represented by the continued burning of fossil fuels to the planet we depend upon for life and the importance of the next ten years in keeping the planet under 1.5 degrees centigrade of heating we urge the community in CNY to start planning a transition away from fossil fuels now.”
was endorsed by a broad spectrum of religious/faith leaders (Baptist, Catholic, Earth based Spiritualities, Episcopal, Hindu, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, Muslim, Native American, Presbyterian, UCC, Unitarian, Sikh, Tibetan-Buddhist, Zen).
The endorsers are as follows:
Bishop Douglas J. Lucia
Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse
The Right Rev. Dr. DeDe Duncan-Probe
Diocesan Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York
Oren Lyons
Onondaga Nation
Mission Hope Community, an American Baptist congregation
Rev. Suzi Harriff
Loyola Jesuit Community at Le Moyne College
Donald J. Kirby, S.J.
Superior, Jesuits at Le Moyne College
Sisters of St. Francis
The Leadership of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.
Care for our Common Home (Laudato Si) Task Force
Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse
David Babcock, lead contact
Social Action Ministry
Paul Welch, director
Catholic Diocese of Syracuse
All Saints Parish
Father Fred Daley
St. Lucy’s Parish
Father Jim Mathews
Peace & Justice Committee
Church of the Greenwood
Kurt Hohmann
Earth-based spiritualities
Hindu Faith & All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP)
Dr. Rachna Zirath MD
Temple Adath Yeshurun
Rabbi Yehoshua Zehavi
Temple Concord
Rabbi Dan Fellman
Congregation Beth Shalom Chevra Shas
Rabbi Daniel Jezer, Rabbi Emeritus
Upstate NY Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Chuch in America
The Rev. Gail R. Wolling, Dean
Chair of the Social Holiness Committee of the Upper NY Methodist Annual Conference
Rev. Alan Kinney
Plymouth Congregational Church UCC
Rev. Eric Jackson
University Methodist United Church
Pastor Alicia Wood
The Islamic Society of Central New York
Mohammed ElFiki, Imam
Presbytery Cayuga – Syracuse (USA)
Karen Chamis
Resource Presbyter for the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse
May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society
Rev. Jo VonRue
Senior Minister
Rev. Jennifer Hamlin-Navias
Unitarian Universalist Minister
Sikh Foundation of Syracuse
Dr. Baljinder S. Dhillon & Mrs. Gurvinder Dhillon
Dr. Mehtab S. Bajwa
Gobind Sadan USA – Sikh Temple
Ralph Singh
Dzogchen Atin Ling of Syracuse NY
Madalyn Smith, coordinator
Tibetan – Buddhist
Zen Center of Syracuse
Chaplain JoAnn Cooke
Shinge Roshi
Press Conference via Zoom
Religious Leaders Support Transition Off of Fossil Fuels
Date: April 19, Monday
Time: 2 PM
URL: Please register
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdemqqDMoGNCkwm4BWo1uKp4rCALevCqZ
Speakers:
Episcopal Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe – One of the signers of a national call by Episcopal Bishops in 2017 affirming the scientific community’s overwhelming finding that climate change is real, human-caused, and undeniably destructive to human society, in reaction to President Trump’s executive order to rewrite rules aimed at curbing carbon emissions.
Oren Lyons – an internationally known Indigenous, human rights and climate change activist and scholar. Oren first spoke on the issue of climate change at the United Nations in 2000.
Professor Robert Howarth – climate scientist, Cornell University – He is a member of the Climate Action Council, a 22-member committee preparing a Scoping Plan to achieve the State’s clean energy and climate agenda as outlined in the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) passed by NYS in 2020. He received an honorable mention “50 People who Matter” in the Time 2011 Person of the Year issue.