Category: Environment

Can an Hour Change the World?

Posted on by Diane Smyth

It’s 48 hours to Earth Hour!

Join the Sisters of Mercy Newfoundland and people in 190 countries and territories for #EarthHour on 25th March at 8:30 pm local time by switching off and spending 60 minutes doing something positive for our planet.

¡Falta una semana para la Hora del Planeta!

Únete a las Hermanas de la Misericordia de Terranova y a personas de 190 países y territorios en la #HoraDeLaTierra el 25 de marzo a las 20:30 hora local, apagando y dedicando 60 minutos a hacer algo positivo por nuestro planeta.

World Water Day, 22 March

Posted on by Diane Smyth

World Water Day is the annual UN observance highlighting the human right of all people to fresh water. Currently, 2.1 billion people live without safe water at home, putting them at risk of illness and disease.

This year’s World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis that many parts of the world are experiencing. Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being. Currently we are far from meeting Sustainable Goal 6: water and sanitation for all earth’s inhabitants by 2030.

This year’s global campaign, Be the Change encourages all of us to take action to change the way we use and manage water. The UN 2023 Water Conference being held in New York from March 22 -24 will provide an opportunity to bring together world leaders to accelerate action for water. However, all of us can play a part in the solution. Let us pray for the success of this conference and take whatever concrete actions we can to live more sustainably by monitoring our use of water and by becoming more aware of our consumption patterns.

Our congregation has signed on to the Water Justice Manifesto organised by
The People’s Water Forum. Below are English and Spanish links to the Manifesto:

https://thepeopleswaterforum.org/2023/02/28/water-justice-manifesto/

https://thepeopleswaterforum.org/2023/02/28/el-manifiesto-por-la-justicia-hidrica/

 

Laudato Si’ Animators’ Course

Posted on by Diane Smyth

The Vatican backed Laudato Si Movement organises an online Laudato Si’ Animators’ Course which is set up to educate and enable people to inspire others, in parishes, schools and in the world at large, to engage in dialogue and action on the current environmental crises. 

The Course, which starts on the 19th April this year, will educate and empower you to bring the Laudato Si’ Encyclical to life.

The Course requirements include weekly readings including chapters from the LS Encyclical, discussion groups, videos to watch, some webinars and some homework which may include things like writing your reflections.

The Course will explain the causes and consequences of climate change, will show how the Laudato Si’ Encyclical fits into Catholic Social Teaching and will encourage a personal ecological conversion to enable action for the planet.

For more information and to register: https://laudatosianimators.org/

Historic Agreement re World’s Oceans

Posted on by Diane Smyth

On March 4, 2023 after two decades of negotiations, nations of the world agreed on a legal framework for parts of the oceans outside international boundaries.

This treaty will not automatically establish new protection areas in the high seas but it will create a mechanism for designating them. This is a crucial step in enforcing the promises made in COP15, where delegates pledged to protect nearly a third of the world’s land and waters by 2030 as a refuge for the planet’s remaining wildlife and a way of sharing the genetic resources of the high seas.

Oceans cover approximately 70% of the planet and in reality are the planet’s largest ecosystem, providing food, water and energy as well as absorbing about a quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions. Human activity continues to endanger oceans and seas, negatively impacting the livelihoods of billions of people and destroying irreplaceable marine life and habitats. Currently only 1.2% of the world’s oceans are protected.

This High Seas Treaty aims to place 30% of the world’s oceans in protected areas, to manage conservation of ocean life, to limit pollution, illegal fishing and deep- sea mining. Antonio Gutteres, Secretary General of the United Nations, says that “this treaty is crucial for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”

Learn more from this news clip from the BBC (6:12)

 

El 4 de marzo de 2023, tras dos décadas de negociaciones, las naciones del mundo acordaron un marco jurídico para las partes de los océanos situadas fuera de las fronteras internacionales.

Este tratado no establecerá automáticamente nuevas zonas de protección en alta mar, pero creará un mecanismo para designarlas. Se trata de un paso crucial para hacer cumplir las promesas hechas en la COP15, donde los delegados se comprometieron a proteger casi un tercio de la tierra y las aguas del mundo para 2030 como refugio para la vida salvaje que queda en el planeta y una forma de compartir los recursos genéticos de alta mar.

Los océanos cubren aproximadamente el 70% del planeta y en realidad son el mayor ecosistema del planeta, ya que proporcionan alimentos, agua y energía, además de absorber aproximadamente una cuarta parte de las emisiones mundiales de CO2. La actividad humana sigue poniendo en peligro los océanos y los mares, repercutiendo negativamente en los medios de vida de miles de millones de personas y destruyendo una vida y unos hábitats marinos irremplazables. En la actualidad, sólo el 1,2% de los océanos del mundo están protegidos.

Este Tratado de Alta Mar tiene como objetivo situar el 30% de los océanos del mundo en zonas protegidas, gestionar la conservación de la vida oceánica, limitar la contaminación, la pesca ilegal y la minería de aguas profundas. Antonio Gutteres, Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, afirma que “este tratado es crucial para hacer frente a la triple crisis planetaria del cambio climático, la pérdida de biodiversidad y la contaminación.”

 

2023 Season of Creation Launch

Posted on by Diane Smyth

The Season of Creation begins on the 1st September, World Day of Prayer for Creation, and finishes on the 4th October, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.

The theme this year is ‘Let Justice and Peace Flow.’

The Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5: 24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.

As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.

In this video Faith leaders invite participation in the Season of Creation.

Preserving Biodiversity: Creation Care from Faith to Action

Posted on by Diane Smyth

Join For the Love of Creation and Citizens for Public Justice for a thoughtful conversation on Biodiversity and Creation Care in Canada!

Expert and diverse panelists will talk about our planetary boundaries, the latest updates from COP15 and Indigenous perspectives on biodiversity. The online gathering will conclude with a theological reflection on creation care.

Thursday, March 23 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Register here

Queries here

For the Love of Creation (FLC) is a faith-based initiative for climate justice. Find out more about this initiative here

Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is an ecumenical, non-profit organization that promotes justice in Canadian public policy through research and analysis focused on poverty reduction, ecological justice, and refugee rights.
Find out more here

Earth Hour: Give an Hour for Earth on 25 March

Posted on by Diane Smyth

Earth Hour this year is on 25 March, at 8:30 pm your local time.

The world is  on course to breach by 2030 the 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement, and nature – the source of our very livelihoods and one of our biggest allies against the climate crisis – is also under severe threat,  facing alarming and unprecedented rates of loss globally.

The next 7 years are therefore crucial to all our futures – we have to stay under the 1.5°C climate threshold to avoid irreversible damage to our planet, and we need to reverse nature loss by 2030, ending the decade with more nature and biodiversity than we started, not less.  To make this happen, individuals, communities, businesses, and governments must all urgently step up their efforts to protect and restore our one home.

With this 2030 goal in mind, we too must step things up. Take your part:

Give an hour for Earth on 25 March by spending 60 minutes doing something – anything – positive for our planet

Our Common Home: A Guide to Caring for Our Living Planet

Posted on by Diane Smyth

“Our common home: A guide to caring for our living planet,” is the product of the collaboration between the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development  and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

It connects the science of climate change, biodiversity and sustainable resource use with the messages of Pope Francis’s Encyclical Laudato Si’

The booklet, available in five languages, launched on 14 February 2023, distils the science on urgent environmental issues and explains how individuals and communities can take action to build a more sustainable and socially just future..

 

“Nuestra casa común: Una guía para cuidar nuestro planeta vivo”, es fruto de la colaboración entre el Dicasterio para la Promoción del Desarrollo Humano Integral y el Instituto de Medio Ambiente de Estocolmo (SEI).

Conecta la ciencia del cambio climático, la biodiversidad y el uso sostenible de los recursos con los mensajes de la Encíclica Laudato Si’ del Papa Francisco.

El folleto, disponible en cinco idiomas, lanzado el 14 de febrero de 2023, destila la ciencia sobre cuestiones medioambientales urgentes y explica cómo los individuos y las comunidades pueden actuar para construir un futuro más sostenible y socialmente justo…

 

Faith at COP15

Posted on by Diane Smyth

COP15, the 15th Conference of the Parties of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, was held December 7-16 in Montreal, Canada.

Reports on COP15 were posted during the conference on our website here (Historic Deal reached at COP15), here (More About COP15) and here (COP15: Protecting Nature and Halting Biodiversity Loss)

Faiths at COP15, a coalition of faith-based organizations and conservation groups who advocate for biodiversity and support urgent international action, hosted a number of events.

You can watch the recordings here. Faiths at COP15 also released the “Multi-Faith Response to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.”

La COP15, la 15ª Conferencia de las Partes del Convenio de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Diversidad Biológica, se celebró del 7 al 16 de diciembre en Montreal (Canadá).

Los informes sobre la COP15 se publicaron durante la conferencia en nuestro sitio web aquí (Acuerdo histórico alcanzado en la COP15), aquí (Más sobre la COP15) y aquí (COP15: Proteger la naturaleza y detener la pérdida de biodiversidad).

Faiths at COP15, una coalición de organizaciones religiosas y grupos conservacionistas que abogan por la biodiversidad y apoyan la acción internacional urgente, organizó varios actos.

Puede ver las grabaciones aquí. Faiths at COP15 también publicó la “Respuesta Multirreligiosa al Marco Global de Biodiversidad Post-2020”.

Historic Deal Reached at COP15

Posted on by Diane Smyth

A historic deal was reached at the UN Biodiversity Summit (COP15) on Monday, December 19 when 195 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The aim of this global pact is to halt and reverse the rapid loss of biodiversity by 2030, setting aside at least 30% of the world’s lands, oceans and inland waters for conservation and respecting the rights, roles and contributions of indigenous peoples toward this goal. The Framework designed at COP15 charts a new way forward, a path away from the damaging patterns that led to the destructionof ecosystems and diminishment of species over many decades. Attached is a segment of an article by Brian Roewe, an environmental correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, on the presence and influence of faith groups at COP15.

El lunes 19 de diciembre se alcanzó un acuerdo histórico en la Cumbre de las Naciones Unidas sobre Biodiversidad (COP15), cuando 195 países adoptaron el Marco Mundial para la Biodiversidad de Kunming-Montreal.

El objetivo de este pacto mundial es detener e invertir la rápida pérdida de biodiversidad para 2030, reservando al menos el 30% de las tierras, océanos y aguas continentales del mundo para su conservación y respetando los derechos, funciones y contribuciones de los pueblos indígenas hacia este objetivo. El Marco diseñado en la COP15 traza un nuevo camino a seguir, un camino que se aleja de los patrones perjudiciales que condujeron a la destrucción de los ecosistemas y a la disminución de las especies durante muchas décadas. Se adjunta un fragmento de un artículo de Brian Roewe, corresponsal medioambiental del National Catholic Reporter, sobre la presencia y la influencia de los grupos religiosos en la COP15.