Christian Aid Marches to Fight Climate Change
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09. 4.07
There was a time when international development and environmental organizations were seen as working on two separate, and sometimes even conflicting, issues. After all, what was more important, looking after people, or looking after the planet? Thankfully, it seems that many groups on both sides have moved on from this position, recognizing that a healthy environment is absolutely central to human well-being and, conversely, environmental protection is only likely to gain ground if human well-being is also taken into the equation. There is no doubt that the unfolding disaster that is human-induced climate change has been a core driver in this shift – development charities have been amazed by the impacts of floods and monsoons in Asia, and climate change-related drought has even been identified by some as a driving force behind the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Little wonder, then, that the development charity Christian Aid is raising its voice on the issue of climate change, orchestrating a march across Britain to raise awareness and to call on the government to do more to cut carbon dioxide emissions:
“Climate change’s greatest injustice is that poor countries are paying the highest price for a problem they did not create. Global warming is a global challenge, and it is in all our interests to act. But unless we act right now we can say goodbye to the vision of a world free from poverty.”
The march is set to travel 1000 miles across Britain, attending rallies and workshops along the way, and culminating in a march on the London Stock Exchange on the 2nd of October. You can read more from one of the marchers over at the Guardian’s website, or check out Christian Aid’s guide to what you can do in the campaign to cut carbon. ::Christian Aid:: via The Guardian::
Thanks for featuring this. Christian Aid has been concerned with climate change for some time now. You might like to check out several Christian Aid podcasts on the issue which include interviews with people in developing countries who are seeing the effects of climate change on the ground right now.
Either search on Christian Aid podcasts in iTunes or find us on Feedburner at http://feeds.feedburner.com/christianaidpodcasts
Episodes to look out for:
Coming Clean
Life on the Edge
Half Gone
and Drenched in Carbon