KAIROS Climate Action Week kicks off Monday, September 11 and concludes Sunday, September 17, galvanizing awareness and action on the climate crisis.
This week’s theme, Decolonizing Climate Action: Keep the Oil in the Soil and Let Justice and Peace Flow focuses on the root cause of climate change: fossil fuels.
To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the world must keep 80 percent of existing oil and gas reserves in the ground and swiftly transition to renewable energy.
Climate justice demands a rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from high emitters in the Global North. During this week, we will join global calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and stand alongside youth who are calling for an end to fossil fuels at this year’s Global Climate Strike.
The September Climate Action Week falls during the Season of Creation, which runs from September 1 (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) to October 4 (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi). This year’s Season of Creation theme is Let Justice and Peace Flow, reminding us that “we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.”
Online Events:
Climate Action Dialogues – Building Momentum for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a global effort to foster international cooperation to accelerate a transition to clean energy for everyone, end the expansion of coal, oil and gas, and equitably phase out existing production in keeping with what science shows is needed to address the climate crisis. Join us to hear from organizations that have endorsed the treaty and discuss why and how faith communities can support this critical effort.
September 12, 7:00 p.m. EST Register.
KAIROS Leadership Seminar – Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Join us in a discussion about building endorsement of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty within Canadian churches. The Reverend Canon Rachel Mash from Green Anglicans (Anglican Church of Southern Africa) will share her experience in bringing a successful motion to endorse the Treaty to the Anglican Consultative Council in February 2023. We will share resources and tools to seek Treaty endorsements by churches, municipal councils and beyond.
September 14, noon to 1:00 p.m. EST Register.
Global Climate Strike
Organized by Fridays for Future and End Fossil Fuels
Friday, September 15 – Sunday, September 17
Find an action near you!
Participate in For the Love of Creation’s Creating for Creation Campaign
In addition to this event, KAIROS will post blogs and actions throughout the week, offering reflections and resources to deepen your understanding and activism for effective action on the climate crisis.
Please visit Climate Action Week Blog or receive updates to your email by subscribing to our e-newsletter and selecting Ecological Justice as an area of interest. Follow #KAIROSClimateAction on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter too.
Background:
Climate Action Week replace KAIROS’ Climate Action Month, which ran every September from 2019-2022 during the Season of Creation, to focus attention on this existential threat throughout the year.
KAIROS began Climate Action Month in September 2019 as a response to the urgent call to action communicated by our partners and other stakeholders in response to alarming and urgent reports from climate scientists, the United Nations, World Bank, and others. We have been deeply concerned about the effects of the climate crisis on vulnerable communities, including women and Indigenous peoples.
The goal is to galvanize awareness and action among Canadians. Throughout the month and now throughout climate action weeks, we explore issues related to climate change, gather to learn and reflect, take collective action, and build momentum for climate action.
KAIROS aims to center the voices and experiences of those who are most impacted by climate change, least responsible for it and most likely to have effective and sustainable solutions because they are living and adapting to it. KAIROS’ climate justice work is rooted in recognition of Indigenous rights, decolonization, and the persistence of environmental racism.
In 2022, Climate Action Month centered around the theme Decolonizing Climate Action, which explored the ongoing effects of colonialism on international and Canadian climate policy, and discussed how we can act to change and reverse these effects. Decolonization is not just about wider inclusion. Decolonizing climate policy is to change the deeper, systemic factors that cause ecological injustices. Climate Action Weeks will retain the same thematic focus to improve understanding on the intersection of climate justice and decolonization and strengthen our actions to address them.
In transitioning to Climate Action Weeks, held throughout the year, we agreed that “decolonizing climate action” is an ongoing investigation and thus an ongoing theme. Each Climate Action Week includes events, resource publications, theological reflection, collaboration with global partners, advocacy actions, and more. We will highlight the work of KAIROS member churches, amplify the work of partners, and showcase communities that are taking concrete steps to address the climate emergency.