Presentation Abstracts for Workshop on Linking Religious, University and Civic Groups to the International Leadership Alliance for Climate Stabilization and Other Climate Protection Efforts
September 21
Ms. Pamela P. McVety: Presbyterians Move Toward Climate Neutrality
This summer the Presbyterian General Assembly passed a resolution calling on all Presbyterians, Presbyterian governing bodies and institutions to go carbon neutral. This dramatic step is in response to the ongoing and predicted devastating effects of climate change on God’s Creation caused by our burning of fossil fuels. (Carbon neutrality requires our energy consumption that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere be reduced and carbon offsets purchased to compensate for those carbon emissions that could not be eliminated.)
Our denomination in rewriting and updating its 25 year old energy policy realized that climate change will overwhelm all of its efforts to care for the poor, feed the hungry and work for peace if it is not solved. Further it recognized that we have the resources and creativity to act now in a bold manner to help avert the impacts of climate change by reducing our energy usage.
Our greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for energy are changing the world’s climate and the effects are already being felt from melting glaciers that raise sea levels to extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and violent storms. Unfortunately the people most affected by these events are those least able to respond. They are our brothers and sisters who live in Africa, Asia, the Arctic and on Pacific Islands who are dying from droughts, floods and extreme weather events. Entire island nations will have to relocate and thousands of year old native cultures are changing as the Arctic warms.
By passing this resolution, Presbyterians accept responsibility for their contribution to these problems and are taking the bold step of going carbon neutral in order to eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions.
Going carbon neutral requires three simple steps:
- Calculate your carbon emissions using a carbon calculator on the Internet.
- Reduce your energy usage as low as you can, and
- Offset your remaining carbon emissions. (NativeEnergy www.nativeenergy.com was used by the denomination to offset carbon emissions from the General Assembly meeting. Numerous other companies offer offsets.)
Examples of carbon offsets are planting trees, capturing methane from dairy farms or landfills, funding green energy projects such as solar or wind and more.
Offset costs can be as low as 12 cents a day per person or be entirely eliminated with the money saved by reducing energy usage. Implementation will be by teams of clergy, property, outreach, financial and education representatives from each church, governing body and institution. Implementation requires the entire church family to be engaged.
Going carbon neutral is not just for Presbyterians. Other denominations are invited to take this bold step. Every person reading this should work to go carbon neutral and tell their relatives, friends and work associates that they too have an opportunity and responsibility to reduce their carbon emissions. Imagine if millions of people go carbon neutral. We might eliminate the need to construct more coal-fired power plants. There would be less pollution, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, climate change could be slowed and its devastating impacts reduced, our electric bills would be lower. The quality of life for all of creation could be reserved.
For additional information on this resolution please see www.pcusa.org/hunger/features/climate.htm.
