Join Rise for Climate
On 8 September, faith communities together with a diverse movement of people from all kinds of communities and walks of life, will stand together for climate action and build the ‘citizen pressure’ the Pope is talking about.
You too can be a part of it. Gather your friends, your neighbors, your place of worship or your faith group and join or host an event as part of #RiseforClimate 2018. It can be as big, small, simple or creative as you like. Each gathering will help build momentum for meaningful action.
Just before local government leaders gather in San Francisco for a major climate meeting (the Global Climate Action Summit), we will show that bold climate leadership can — and must — ripple from communities up.
The climate crisis is real, and it is happening now. But around the world, people of faith are building a fossil free future.
In the Philippines, Our Lady of Angels Parish just installed a five-kilowatt solar energy system on the roof of the church.
In the Pacific, #PrayforPacific in 2016 brought unprecedented numbers of people together from all denominations in prayer and fellowship centred on climate change and climate action. Now the Pacific Climate Warriors are launching a new campaign, #PacificPawa, asking places of worship to take a Fossil Free pledge and move to 100% renewable energy.
In Germany, members of churches, faith communities and local Fossil Free groups are encouraging churches and faith institutions to withdraw their investments from oil, gas and coal companies.
So far, 95 Catholic organisations have divested from fossil fuels. And worldwide, tens of thousands of people have called on the Vatican to join them and divest.
Now it’s time to scale up.
Today, the “common home” of our planet also needs urgently to be repaired and secured for a sustainable future. ~ Pope Francis
The Rise for Climate mobilisation is not just about what’s decided in the corridors of power of the Summit, but also about the wave of wins and commitments that can be made at that time in your town, city, university, local institutions, place of worship or community.
We must rise to this moment, rise for our common home, and for the urgent action the climate crisis demands.
*You can read the Pope’s speech in full here