Church warned of increasing 'climate refugees' in Asia

Drawing attention to the peril of climate change that has caused increased natural disasters and shortage of food, a church consultation in Bangalore urged faith communities to apprehend climate injustice as sin and engage in inter-faith initiatives.

Reiterating that climate change was not just a result of rise in temperature, the consultation put spotlight on "industrialization, capitalism and neo-liberal globalization" which is seeking "profit without limits and separating human beings from nature".

Church representatives from across Asia participated in the event organised by the Christian Conference of Asia and the National Council of Churches in India.

They observed how environmental degradation had created climate refugees who "experience poverty, destitution, homelessness, violence, sexual abuse, state brutality, human trafficking and others."

There are reportedly some 25 million climate refugees in the world today. They are mostly in Asia and Africa and their number is increasing day by day.

According to predictions by informed groups, there will be 150-200 million climate refugees in the world by 2050, and Asia is likely to be home to a large number of them.

"We need to make people aware of the need to act urgently to limit carbon emissions and the resultant climate change of which the causes are industrialization, deforestation and burning of fossil fuels," said Christopher Rajkumar, executive secretary of Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation, NCCI.

"Climate change is adversely affecting not just human beings but also the whole community of creation, and hence we must broaden the definition of climate refugees to include all displaced and endangered members of the earth community," he added.

The consultation has called on Church to create awareness in children and young people by incorporating climate justice concerns into the Sunday school curriculum.

Also, a call was made to introduce eco-theology as a required subject in the theological curriculum, and to establish eco-justice commissions in all churches and dioceses.

Apart from Church, countries and international bodies including the European Union was urged to be proactive in addressing climate change, and strive towards reducing carbon emissions from their populations.