Nobel Peace Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu Joins 270 Religious Leaders to Sign Interfaith Climate Statement

DHARAMSHALA: Nobel Peace Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu joined over 270 leaders of the world’s major religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism to express support for a strong climate action on Monday, 18 April. It was submitted in New York to the U.N. climate Chief Christiana Figueres. Click here for the statement.

The interfaith statement comes ahead of the gathering of national leaders at the United Nations on Friday, 22 April, to sign the landmark climate pact agreed in Paris – a necessary step towards its entry into force.

“Caring for the Earth is our shared responsibility. Each one of us has a “moral responsibility to act,” as so powerfully stated by the Pope’s Encyclical and in the climate change statements by Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other faith leaders,” the interfaith statement reads.

“Humanity is at a crucial turning point. We as faith communities recognize that we must begin a transition away from polluting fossil fuels and towards clean renewable energy sources. It is clear that for many people significant lifestyle changes will have to be made. We must strive for alternatives to the culture of consumerism that is so destructive to ourselves and to our planet,” it says.

“We must reflect on the true nature of our interrelationship to the Earth. It is not a resource for us to exploit at our will. It is a sacred inheritance and a precious home which we must protect. United with the shared hope that arises from faith, we the undersigned believe that the means, desire, and will to care for Earth and all life can and will become action as our political leaders ratify the promises made in Paris – and thus safeguard the greater promises of this generation and of all those to come,” the statement concludes.

The interfaith statement further added six call-to-actions urging governments to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, use of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 and funding to help developing nations adapt to the hazards of a changing climate such as drought, extreme heat, dangerous storms, and rising sea levels.