Monrovia, Liberia – A three-day regional consultative conference for religious leaders from East and West African nations about climate change has begun in Careysburg, Montserrado County, organized by the Liberia Council of Churches and the All African Council of Churches.
Bishop Teyi Lawson-Kpavuvu, the vice president of the All African Council of Churches, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at the conference’s opening event said, religious leaders ought to be more involved in combating climate change rather than letting others handle it.
“We must incorporate earth welfare into our lives because we are impacted by the same things that affect the earth. We live in a world where climate change is real. These days, it takes up a large portion of our time and greatly affects us.”
He argued that as climatic challenges are also social justice issues, people need to understand how environmental issues and climate change are related to social justice.
Bishop Lawson-Kpavuvu added that religious leaders must face the difficulties brought on by the climate change tragedy in collaboration with other stakeholders.
“I am stating that climate change is a challenge because this conference is a means of examining the issues and coming up with solutions. As religious leaders and people of faith, we must take this seriously.”
The African Faith Network on Climate Justice Chairman, Rev. Dr. Bliss Agbeko, commented that the welfare of the planet, which is about survival, is a matter of life and death.
“Throughout time, we have seen that human activity is ultimately responsible for the planet’s devastation because we are negatively impacting it.”
He maintained that God created the earth and gave mankind responsibility for caring for it so that future generations could enjoy it.
The Liberia Council of Churches Secretary General, Reverend Christopher Toe, had earlier declared that the gathering of religious leaders to discuss environmental issues was exceptional and historic.
Religious leaders were forewarned by Reverend Toe to support government initiatives aimed at resolving climate change-related challenges.
The Islamic and Christian perspectives on climate change, the theological reflections on climate change, the importance of interreligious engagements for mitigating climate change, an analysis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change (UNFCCC), and a panel discussion leveraging the moral authority of faith actors to promote climate justice by stakeholders were topics of discussion during the conference.
With the subject “The Welfare of the Earth is Our Welfare,” more than fifty members of civil society organizations, environmentalists, and adherents of the Christian and Muslim faiths from East and West African nations gathered for the conference.
Reported by: Prince Saah
Contact: +231778239813
Email: saahprince119@gmail.com
