Alison Atkinson-Phillips
As world leaders meet at Copenhagen, religious leaders are doing what they can through prayer and messages of support to encourage them to do the right thing on climate change. Some say a binding agreement would be a miracle; others think what’s needed is a little faith.
In Melbourne for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, activist Dr A T Ariyatne is an advocate for the Earth Charter, a civil society document and moment for sustainability. He has been working with people at grass roots level throughout the Indian sub-continent, receiving the Ghandi Peace Prize for his effort.
“The economy has taken over ecology,” he said, “Community organizations are the ones who can change this.”
He argued that the Earth Charter — which has four core principles of respect for the earth, care for the community of life, building democratic societies and securing earth’s ‘bounty and beauty’ — can translate into real practical action. If all the many thousands of groups who have endorsed the Earth Charter really worked to put its principles into action, the potential for change would be enormous.
“The only language the politicians and bureaucrats understand is the language of the people,” he said.
Participants at the Parliament have been praying, each in their own way, for those meeting at Copenhagen. A petition is also being sent along with messages of support.
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Sign up for daily prayer alerts during Copenhagen http://planetprayer.blogspot.com
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