Press Releases

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Toronto: On Tuesday evening, The United Church of Canada’s Moderator, Mardi Tindal, joined with other leaders of churches and international church organizations in sending a message to climate change negotiators in Copenhagen, imploring them to “not be afraid.”

The letter, which was signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the incoming and outgoing general secretaries of the World Council of Churches, as well as church leaders from Europe, North America, and the Pacific, says the negotiations are at a crucial stage and negotiators need to be steadfast to “act now.”

The message also called on the negotiators to keep in mind the historical responsibility of the industrialized countries in climate justice. “At this crucial stage in the negotiations we would like to reiterate our firm conviction that there is an undeniable historical responsibility on the part of the industrialized countries for the climate change crisis that we currently face. ”

Commenting on the church leaders’ call for initiatives to be taken by both developed and developing countries, Tindal said. “We are, as Tutu said in the city square at noon on Sunday, all members of the same family—and the whole family is feeling the effects of climate change—though some more dramatically than others.”

The complete text of the church leaders’ letter can be found on the World Council of Churches website.

For more information, please contact:

• Mary-Frances Denis
  Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
  The United Church of Canada
  Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
  E-mail: Mary-Frances Denis