Quakers join first global week of action for peace and climate justice
Quakers in Britain are uniting with peace and climate justice movements worldwide to highlight the connections between their causes.
The first Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice runs from 21-28 September, with over 50 events planned across five continents.
The Global Week of Action seeks to highlight critical issues such as:
- The world's wealthiest countries have repeatedly failed to provide $100bn in promised climate finance to help countries adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate breakdown. Meanwhile, in 2023 global military spending increased for the ninth year running to $2,443bn.
- Experts estimate that the world's militaries are responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If the world's militaries were a country, they would have the fourth largest carbon footprint: higher than that of Russia. But militaries are excluded from current climate agreements, so face no accountability for their pollution.
This week of action aims to build bridges between peace and climate justice movements, building momentum behind the urgent need to divest from war and invest in climate justice.
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“We are called by our faith to work for a peaceful and sustainable world, and we increasingly see how we cannot have one without the other.
- Oliver Robertson
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Quakers in Britain are a key partner in this initiative, standing alongside other international and national organisations.
In New York City, actions will coincide with the UN Summit of the Future; in Mexico, students are preparing demands for their Congress to shift funding from the armed forces to environmental policies.
Japan's Peace Boat will host workshops and actions in Tokyo and in the Atlantic Ocean as part of its global voyage for peace.
In the UK, Quakers will be holding vigils in Taunton and Bath to call attention to the devastating consequences of militarism on our climate, and to advocate for peaceful and sustainable solutions.
Quaker peace organisation Northern Friends Peace Board is urging people to write to their MPs to raise concerns over the issue.
Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship at Quakers in Britain, said: “Quakers believe every human life is precious.
“Today, war and climate breakdown are two of the biggest barriers to a world where everyone can flourish.
“We are called by our faith to work for a peaceful and sustainable world, and we increasingly see how we cannot have one without the other."