Central Coast residents will have read or heard of Pope Francis’ dire warnings for all people on the environmental effects of climate change and his condemnation of the weapons industry.
The following resolution may be of further interest. The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom met in April in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The resolution expressed alarm that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in history, the atmosphere and oceans have warmed, snow and ice cover have diminished, sea levels have risen.
The congress expressed further alarm by the lack of action in the second half of the critical decade to avert catastrophic climate change that will have severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts on agriculture, food security, fresh water, human health and the ecosystems on which all life depends.
It recognised that clean water is a precious resource and a fundamental human right which needs to be protected and freely available to all. The resolution on climate change, environmental justice and peace also stated that climate change has a disproportionate effect on the poor, women, Indigenous peoples, coastal and small island communities.
It also recognised that military production, consumption, exercises and war are intensive greenhouse gas emitting accelerators of climate change and extreme weather events. The Congress called for governments to urgently commit to ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions towards zero carbon economies.
It called for all organisations to divest from fossil fuel investments and for climate refugee status to be recognised in international law.
It also demanded the participation of women experts and representatives of impacted communities in climate mitigation and adaptation policy negotiations at the December 2015 Conference of Parties in Paris that will set a new global framework for combatting climate change.
Finally, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom called for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change.
Letter, 27 June 2016
P Lemoine, East Gosford