Friends witness for peace and climate
Friends participated in the Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice
Friends across the country are witnessing this week as part of the Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice. The event is the first of its kind to highlight the links between war, militarism and climate injustice.
From 21-28 September, the week has included more than fifty events across five continents.
This includes action in Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Malawi, Mexico, India, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US, as well as online witness.
Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, said: ‘Growing militarism is a key driver of carbon emissions – both directly through energy-hungry warplanes, warships, and armoured vehicles, and indirectly through military supply chains and the huge destruction caused by war. Without a concerted effort to find peaceful resolution to the world’s conflicts, climate targets will remain out of reach.’
Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship at Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said: ‘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.’
‘Growing militarism is a key driver of carbon emissions.’
Stuart Parkinson, of Scientists for Global Responsibility
BYM said the week aims to highlight that ‘the world’s wealthiest countries have repeatedly failed to provide $100 billion 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 $2,443 billion.
The week also aims to build bridges between peace and climate justice movements. In New York City, events coincided with the UN Summit of the Future. Meanwhile, the Japan-based NGO ‘Peace Boat’ carried out workshops and actions in Tokyo and in the Atlantic ocean as part of its global voyage for peace. In Mexico, students directed a list of demands to the Mexican Congress, asking them to divest funds from the armed forces and reinvest them in environmental public policies. In the UK, vigils have been held in London, Taunton and Bath.
