Press Release: Islamic Society of North America Endorses Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

Islamic Society of North America Endorses Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

With GreenFaith, Signs Interfaith Letter Calling for Managed Decline for Fossil Fuels, Just Transition

 Contact:

Islamic Society of North America – Imam Saffet Catovic, +1-202-993-8636, scatovic@isna.net

GreenFaith – Rev. Fletcher Harper, +1-201-390-0094, fletcher@greenfaith.org

Today, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and called on other Muslim and religious organizations to sign an interfaith letter in support of the treaty.  ISNA was joined by GreenFaith, an international, multi-faith organization, which extended the sign-on invitation to religious groups globally.

“For too long, massive oil producers, including in Muslim nations, have endangered the future of life by preventing policies to put an end to fossil fuel extraction and production and to bring about a just transition to a sustainable future. We cannot be silent anymore because the lives of countless people, the world’s ecosystems, and the lives of future generations are at stake and we are out of time,” said Imam Saffet Catovic, Head of Interfaith and Community Alliances and Governmental Relations for ISNA. “The Maqasid al-Shari’ah, the inviolable objectives of Islam’s sacred law, makes it clear that society must protect life, family, property, and the essence of our faith through policies which enable maslaha – public welfare. Failure to establish concrete, time-bound plans to phase out fossil fuels is a violation of these moral imperatives.” (See ISNA’s full statement)

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a civil-society initiative calling on governments to negotiate and ratify a treaty to prevent the proliferation of coal, oil and gas by ending all new exploration and production; to phase-out existing production of fossil fuels in line with the 1.5C global climate goal; and to fast-track climate solutions and a just transition for impacted workers, communities and countries.

“The Treaty represents values of compassion, love and justice in the face of a dire emergency,” said the Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith.  “There is no greater moral imperative than to phase out the use of fossil fuels as rapidly as possible while investing in a rapid, just transition to universal access to clean energy. At a global scale, religious groups must embrace this call to action.”

The Dalai Lama and 100 other Nobel Prize laureates have signed a letter calling on world leaders to end the expansion of coal, oil and gas production, a central part of the Treaty. Over two thousand academics from 81 countries have delivered a letter to the United Nations General Assembly demanding a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Over 900 civil society organizations have also endorsed the Treaty.

GreenFaith will work with religious groups signing the multi-faith letter to engage them in local and regional campaigns opposing new fossil fuel development.  “Grassroots religious communities around the globe are standing up against the climate’s destruction,” said Harper.  “Signing the Interfaith letter in support of the Treaty is an important way to show global solidarity and to build moral power together.”

インドネシア石炭火力発電所訪問
インドネシア石炭火力発電所訪問

グリーンフェイス・ジャパンは、日本が石炭開発への支援を段階的に中止し、代わりに再生可能エネルギーを支援する必要性について認識を高めるため、2024年10月22日から26日にかけて、日本の青年宗教指導者とともに、インドネシアの西ジャワ州にあるインドラマユ石炭火力発電所への訪問を含む、教育ツアーを実施しました。 "エネルギー転換と宗教間の役割について"...

read more
フレッチャー・ハーパー代表の日本訪問
フレッチャー・ハーパー代表の日本訪問

"日本の議員・宗教団体との交流" フレッチャー・ハーパー代表は、8月25日から29日まで日本に滞在し、日本の環境団体と共に自民党、公明党、立憲民主党の国会議員と面会しました。また、全日本仏教会や日本キリスト教協議会(NCG)、なども訪れ、日本の宗教者が環境問題において重要な役割を果たすことを訴えました。さらに、環境問題に起因する争いや対立を解決するために、日本と世界の宗教者の力を結集させる必要性を強調しました。 "エネルギー基本計画への提言"...

read more
Summer of Heat: Faith Action for Climate Finance
Summer of Heat: Faith Action for Climate Finance

NEW YORK, NY, USA July 2024 was the hottest month in recorded history. GreenFaith marked the occasion by hosting Faith Week as part of a coalition-wide campaign called Summer of Heat (July 28-Aug 3, 2024), not ironically, in the midst of a sweltering heat wave in New...

read more