Man plant vetiver grass. Photo: APS |
CWS poised to act on policies that contribute to climate change
Story by Thomas Abraham/CWS
"I'm not a scientist," said Michael Dardar, Vice Principal Chief of the United Houma Peoples, as he described his tribe's efforts to recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in southern Louisiana. " But I know from living on the land that winters are shorter and hurricanes more frequent and intense."
Responding to weather-related emergencies like hurricanes is central to the work of Church World Service. Climate also affects many projects aimed at eradicating hunger and poverty and promoting peace and justice around the world.
Faced with the increasingly clear threat of climate change, Church World Service is joining environmental organizations and other church-related relief and development agencies in looking at responses to public policies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
"The issue for CWS is how climate change frames development and justice," according to Rajyashri Waghray, who directs education and advocacy for CWS. She recently attended a consultation in London on how climate change impacts development.
In the U.S., CWS is addressing climate change through Congress and the legal system. CWS supported a successful legal action through the Supreme Court to compel the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
World dependence on fossil fuels is thought to be a major contributor to climate change. CWS is partnering with Oil Change International, USA Network, and others in promoting the End Oil Aid Act, introduced recently by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY). The Act aims at limiting overseas operations by the oil and gas industry that are subsidized by the World Bank and other U.S.-funded international financial institutions.
Climate change and environmental degradation go hand-in-hand. Conservation and renewal of the environment is being integrated into many CWS-supported projects that improve access to water and secure food resources. In Burkina Faso, for example, a CWS partner helped women's and farmers' cooperatives plant vetiver grass (see above) to stem erosion and dig 170 compost pits to restore soil.
Join your voice with that of CWS on climate change. Visit our "Speak Out" webpage.