Church must play role in climate change

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley is calling on the church to adopt a strong activism and advocacy platform to help Barbados fight climate change.

Atherley said that while the church has a strong presence in society, the institution adding its voice to climate change discussions and negotiations locally and internationally, is critical at this time, when Barbados like other small island states has been feeling the negative impact of climate change.

He believes such a move is important to the future of the economy and generations to come.

Speaking during Barbados’ first Conference with faith-based organisations on Climate Action on Friday, the Opposition Leader who is also a religious leader said churches must speak up for sustainable development towards adaptation and disaster risk management including coastal infrastructural development especially with reference to tourism.

Atherley said Barbados depends heavily on tourism-related activities which results in coastal development works which tend to have a negative impact on the environment.

“I believe the church has to be loud in expressing our concern as to where we go with coastal infrastructural development in relation to tourism or any infrastructural development. I believe that we have to be a strong voice of advocacy as well for the protection of our ecosystems. We live and we are almost complacent and indifferent sometimes to the biodiverse elements that hold our ecosystems together.

“We live and are almost complacent to the fact that the ecosystem as a structure naturally very much contributes to our wellbeing, helps us to provide for ourselves and helps us also to ward off the negative impacts,” he said.

Bishop Atherley added there is also need for citizens and businesses to advocate for strong action against pollution and contamination, and suggested that businesses get away with “murder” with respect to the treatment of the ecosystem that induces contamination and pollution.

He said that while it is okay for policymakers to put regulatory frames in place, citizens must also advocate for rigid penalties for those who participate in activities that cause harm to coral reef formation.

“We need to advocate strongly for a tax policy that is incentive-based I believe, and encourages the incorporation into the use of new building techniques.

“This is very important. The way we do things of yesteryear perhaps in part contributes to where we find ourselves today. But if we want to improve the outlook going forward then we have to apply new technologies,” Bishop Atherley said.

The Opposition Leader said the church also has to advocate for the pursuit and attainment of the National Energy Goal 2030.

The Ashley Lashley Foundation in conjunction with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy hosted the virtual faith-based conference to continue efforts to enhance community resilience to the effects of climate change.

Atherley commended the foundation for attempting to ensure that faith-based groups are involved in the climate change dialogue.

Ashley Lashley, the founder of HEY Campaign, a youth-based project on climate change, who was in June this year designated a UNICEF Youth Advocate, said the object of the conference was to drive interest among religious groupings, climate change experts and young people in Barbados. They delivered presentations on climate change, the blue economy and religious group responses and activism towards eradicating the negative effects of climate change.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey stressed the need to get faith-based leaders to use their resources to help Barbados access financing for the island to combat the impact of climate change including infrastructural work on the west coast to save beaches and shorelines.

He said churches should also utilize renewable energy, including installing solar panels on the roofs of church buildings.

“I want to thank the Ashley Lashley Foundation for working with the Government to be able to bring this initiative to the people. All of us going forward must work on this thing together regardless of whatever space we occupy, and I am pretty sure that then and only then will we be able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of all,” Humphrey said. (AH)