15 July 2014
From the Anglican Alliance website at http://www.anglicanalliance.org/
Participants from Bangladesh, who took part in the Anglican Alliance’s recent advocacy webinar, later met to discuss how their church might take forward advocacy on climate change for the most vulnerable.
A group of priests, development practitioners and church leaders from Bangladesh who took part in the Anglican Alliance’s advocacy webinar in June 2014 were so excited by the discussion that they then met to take forward the insights that were shared.
With the Church of Bangladesh’s critical action on climate change, the group discussed a number of areas where advocacy would help take action on climate change.
Key areas highlighted for advocacy included:
- Fulfillment of financial commitments by developed countries
- Stronger monitoring systems for the effective use of climate adaptation and mitigation funds
- Significance given to community based adaptation
- Funding allocations to be the same for adaptation and mitigation
- A focus on issues related to climate change, such as food security.
- Women, children and the most vulnerable should be considered as a priority in climate justice.
- Anglican eco-bishops* should have strategic lead roles in climate change advocacy.
The participants proposed that the Church of Bangladesh should take more action on climate change and related issues.
One climate prone area in the country may be chosen to initiate a pilot programme, which will seek more effective interventions to address the effects of climate change.
A community based adaptation approach (CBA) would be taken, and learning from the pilot would be shared, firstly to other areas of Bangladesh and then through the Anglican Alliance family of churches across the Anglican Communion.
The moderator Bishop of the Anglican Church of Bangladesh, the Most. Rev. Paul Sarker is keenly aware of the need to respond to the effects of climate change. Archbishop Sarker is a member of the Eco-Bishops’ Initiative, a project initiated by the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, which connects bishops to take action for the environment.
Green Anglicans 