The use of renewable energy, be it solar panels or geothermal installations in the parishes; using efficient lighting in buildings or reducing the use of heating and air conditioning are some of the Vatican's suggestions to deal with climate change.
The Hindu community in Spain promotes vegetarian food "as a form of respect for all living entities" among its faithful and urges the use of biodegradable utensils in their religious celebrations and not to pollute rivers, while Buddhists commit to reducing travel or offset the carbon dioxide generated.
These are some of the proposals included in a study promoted by the Ecology and Development Foundation (Ecodes) that analyzes the climate change mitigation initiatives of different denominations in Spain.
One of the conclusions is that, although small steps are taken to reduce emissions, it is observed among the faithful of different beliefs "that climate change is not yet considered a priority crisis, but rather as one more environmental challenge," according to the author. of the report, Rogelio Fernández.
Fernández, who starts his research from interviews and debates with parishioners of different denominations and from the study of the interreligious declarations that have been produced in recent years within the framework of various climate summits, which urge, among other things, Investing in renewable energy and divesting from fossil fuels highlights the role religious leaders play in delaying or promoting climate action.
He gives Pope Francis as an example, who in 2015 published the encyclical Laudato Si, a document in which he urges the care of "the common home" that is the "devastated" "sister Earth" and in which he recognizes climate change as " one of the main current challenges for humanity”. Fernández considers the figure of the Pope "key" for the expansion of mitigation actions in the Catholic community.
"The encyclical was a knock on the commitment to sustainability in the Catholic world," he says. In fact, Catholicism is the confession with "a greater display of actions", compared to others such as Buddhism or Islam, according to the study of it.
Some twenty Spanish dioceses have a delegation or commission for integral ecology, in which more than a hundred pastoral actions are contemplated. One of the delegations with the longest history is that of the Archdiocese of Madrid, which has designed a questionnaire that allows its parishes to do a self-examination to find out if they are complying with the Pope's suggestions.
Among other aspects, he wonders if the building has its own power generation system, if it has estimated the carbon footprint generated, if it uses office materials of recycled origin or if it tries to avoid plastics and celebrations and parish meetings. "When we celebrate an act, we try to do it in the moments with the most natural light," explains Carlos Jesús Delgado, head of the diocesan commission for integral ecology in Madrid.
The director of Ecodes, Víctor Viñuales, highlights the importance of all sectors, including religion, in addressing this environmental crisis. "We need religions to put priorities back in order, so that they remember that life in the earth is one”.
