NCC General Secretary Announces Climate Change Campaign
Episcopal News Service. July 25, 1996 [96-1532R]
(NCC) "Now is the time for action, not simply more study," National Council of Churches (NCC) general secretary Joan Brown Campbell said in her recent announcement of an NCC petition campaign on climate change. The petition signing effort, which challenges the U.S. government to do more on the issue, will be carried out through churches of the NCC's 33 member communions over the next six months. According to Campbell, "Caring for God's creation is one of the central tasks of Christians." After working on the issue since 1988 and meeting with major climate scientists, she declared, "We believe that the voices of scientists and politicians alone are not sufficient to slow the climate change that scientists generally agree is happening." The petition asks the U.S. government to fulfill its pledge at Earth Summit 1992 in Rio de Janeiro to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000; establish firm policy measures and adopt a binding international agreement that will achieve greater reductions in emissions after the year 2000; and initiate public debate on the risks of climate change.