Religious leaders urge governments to ratify Paris Agreement

New Delhi: Twenty Indians, including Cardinals Oswald Gracias and Telesphore Toppo, are among 250 global faith leaders from 50 countries who on Monday urged governments to ratify the historic Paris Agreement on climate change without further delay.

The plea came in the form of an Interfaith Climate Change Statement they leaders issued just four days before the signing of the agreement.

More than 130 countries have confirmed participation in the signing of the Paris Agreement on April 22 in New York. India will be present for a high level signing ceremony convened by UN secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

The religious leaders urged its prompt ratification by governments so that it can come into force as soon as possible.

The interfaith statement was signed April 18 in Church Center of the UN followed by a press conference. The statement also reaffirms the faith community’s support for increased ambition in climate change action and for the commitment to limit the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The declaration “outlines religious leaders’ and faith communities’ positive judgment of the adopted Paris Agreement.”

The statement urges governments to rapidly sign, ratify and implement the Paris Agreement, and to increase pledges to reduce emissions in line with keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels

It insists on rapid emissions reduction and peaking by 2020, in order to keep the 1.5C goal within reach.

The religious leaders advocate greater flows of finance, especially for adaptation and loss and damage and urge swift phase out of all fossil fuel subsidies and a transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

The faith leaders encourage their communities to reduce emissions in their homes, workplaces and centers of worship and to support and stand in solidarity with communities already impacted by climate change, indiablooms.com reported.

They also call for fossil fuel divestment and reinvestment in renewables, including within faith communities.

A country’s signature on the agreement initiates the critical domestic process, on which depends its final entry into force.

This process takes many separate forms and can be rapid or lengthier, depending on each country’s domestic practices. The outcome may be countries’ instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

Following each national completion of this process, instruments will be submitted to the Depositary under the UN Secretary-General in New York. It is only once such an instrument is deposited that a country can be said to have ratified the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.

The signatories from India included Revered Mar Atsongchanger, president of the National Council of Churches in India, Cardinal Gracias, who heads the Federation of Asian Bishops´ Conferences, Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, Swami Agnivesh, president of the World Council of Arya Samaj “Society of Nobles,” Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma (Mother), the hugging saint of India, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living Foundation.

Other Indian religious leaders are Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, president Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, Swami Atmapriyananda, Vice Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Swamiji Jagadguru Karmayogi Charukeerty Bhattarak, Pontiff of Jain Shravanabelagola Math; Acharya Shri Shrivatsa Goswami, a leading figure in the Vaishnava tradition; Dr. Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyassi, Chief Imam, All India Organisation of Mosques.

Other leaders from India are Dharmacharya Shantum Seth, Ahimsa Trust, Plum Village International Community of Engaged Buddhists, Ven. Khandro Rinpoche, Teacher in both the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Member of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Secretary General, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance; President, A.K Merchant, Trustee, Lotus Temple and National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is,

The signatories also included Rev. Dr. Solomon Rongpi, General Secretary, Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India, Radhanath Swami, Swami Chandra, Lieutenant Colonel Dasari Daniel, National Secretary, The Salvation Army, Rev. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in India and Wahidudin Khan, founder of the Islamic Centre – Urdu Islamic Institution.

Acharya Lokesh Muni Ji, Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, director, Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery; Dharmacharya Shantum Seth, Ahimsa Trust, Plum Village International Community of Engaged Buddhists; Gunbir Singh, chairman, Eco Amritsar; Sri Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji, youngest ever swamiji to ascend the Paryaaya Peetam in Udupi, have also signed the statement.