Climate Change

Each year the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) hosts our Intergenerational Spring Seminar. Our 2010 theme was A Climate of Change: Heads, Hearts, and Hands Around the Planet. Below is the statement complied by attendees to represent Unitarian Universalist voices at the United Nations.
UU United Nations 2010 Seminar Statement
Whereas...
- All seven of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Principles mandate environmental stewardship...
- The scientific evidence supporting global warming is overwhelming and cannot be ignored...
- Climate change has the potential to degrade the quality of life of all people on earth, particularly those who lack the resources to adapt.
- The impacts of global warming have dire consequences, including extreme weather, rising sea levels, and mass extinctions...
- There is no second planet and so we must preserve the one we have...
- Dwindling water and food supply will also increase conflict between groups and threaten world peace...
- The COP15 was a pivotal first step towards making a binding agreement but is not enough...
We hereby resolve to...
- Be conscientious consumers by distinguishing the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’.
- Educate our communities (schools, congregations, communities) with the most accurate information available, to counter disinformation, and to use the Internet and the arts as tools of communication.
- Take simple and economical steps in our own backyards (such as planting native trees and plants) as well as advocating for pro-environment legislation and research on a larger scale.
- Support political candidates/elected officials who acknowledge the climate crisis and demand that they take action.
- Urge COP16 in Cancun, Mexico to develop a fair, ambitious binding agreement. The agreement should provide for substantial aid to developing countries for technology transfer and adaptation.
- Work with the United Nations for generational equity so that our children inherit a planet that is both functional and enjoyable. We must support the UU-UNO as our representative on a global scale.