QUNO: Transform root causes of climate crisis
'These root causes are often very lucrative activities and include the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, industrial and meat-based agriculture, deforestation, and unsustainable economic growth and consumption levels.'
Quakers have called for ‘urgent, fair and transformative’ action to transform the root causes driving climate change. Members of the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) made a number of interventions at the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February.
Lindsey Fielder Cook, representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change at QUNO Geneva, said: ‘In our work as the only active and accredited faith-based organisation in the IPCC, Quakers press for sufficient research on, and attention to, urgent, fair and transformative climate action to address root causes driving climate change. These root causes are often very lucrative activities and include the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, industrial and meat-based agriculture, deforestation, and unsustainable economic growth and consumption levels driven by unsustainable and unjust economic systems.
‘As observers, we support the climate scientists in their efforts to maintain the integrity of their scientific findings in the face of political pressure. We prioritise climate justice findings, and aim to protect the inclusion of language on human rights, Indigenous People’s rights, equity, justice, ecosystem restoration and rights-based approaches to climate action. Our interventions seek to ensure communication of the science findings in the Summary for Policymakers is not weakened; we are there to speak out when we see this happening and to use the influence we can.’
During the IPCC meeting, Lindsey Fielder Cook made twenty-seven interventions on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), before hundreds of country delegates and scientists. FWCC, represented by the QUNO in Geneva, is the only accredited faith-based observer organisation actively engaged in the negotiations to agree the IPCC’s summary report.
This year, the IPCC presented its sixth assessment report, which has taken over seven years to develop and has legal status. The IPCC finalised the second part of the report on ‘impacts, adaptation and vulnerability’ on 28 February. A third report on ‘climate mitigation and solutions’ is due in early April and the final part, due in October will summarise these findings for governments meeting for the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt. The list of interventions can be viewed on the QUNO and FWCC websites.
