Islamic leaders launch climate change declaration

Islamic leaders from 20 countries today launched a Climate Change Declaration urging governments to deliver a strong, new global climate agreement in Paris this December. It warns that the “present fee of climate change can not be sustained, and the earth’s wonderful equilibrium might quickly be misplaced”.

It’s the latest push from global religious leaders on climate climate: Pope Francis released a landmark papal encyclical in June urging action on the environment.

The strongly worded declaration, signed by representatives from a spectrum of the Islamic world, is intended as the basis of action on climate change from madrassas and mosques to Islamic businesses around the globe.

The document also calls for the world’s businesses to take greater responsibility for reducing the impact of climate change, arguing businesses should “change from the current business model which is based on an unsustainable escalating economy, and to adopt a circular economy that is wholly sustainable”. In addition, organizers of the conference – Islamic Relief Worldwide, the Islamic Forum for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and GreenFaith – noted in a press release that the declaration was endorsed by other leaders not at the convening, such as the grand mufti of Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Christina Figueres, executive secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said Islam’s teachings provide “guidance” for those attempting to tackle escalating climate risks. However, the conference declaration could spur oil-producing Muslim countries to act.

The declaration has drawn some criticism that it’s not truly representative of Islam, given that some of the largest Islamic nations have expressed no reaction to its call and in fact did not send attendees to the Istanbul symposium.

“The climate crisis needs to be tackled through collaborative efforts so let’s work together for a better world for our children and our children’s children”, Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, said in a statement e-mailed by the Climate Action Network of non-governmental organizations.

“We call on all Muslims wherever they may be … to tackle habits, mindsets, and the root causes of climate change, environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity in their particular spheres of influence, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and bring about a resolution to the challenges that now face us”, the document read.

That means committing to 100 percent renewable energy “as early as possible”, the declaration says, and “re-focus[ing] their concerns from unethical profit from the environment, to that of preserving it and elevating the condition of the world’s poor”.