Catholic bishops call for affirmative action against climate change
What you need to know:
- “It’s now evidenced by impacts brought by climate change. We have seen nations going through unpredictable seasons, experiencing drought, floods, hunger and all other upheavals of pollution,”
Dar es Salaam. Catholic Church leaders from eight East African countries yesterday called for strong affirmative actions against impacts of climate change that has devastated livelihood in the region.
The Episcopal Conferences in East Africa (AMECEA) country members said during a Sunday Mass to mark end of the 20th plenary assembly held in the city.
The Amecea chairman, Bishop Charles Kasonde of Solwezi Diocese in Zambia said acknowledged the presence of ecological crisis which to a large extent was a result of human activities.
“It’s now evidenced by impacts brought by climate change. We have seen nations going through unpredictable seasons, experiencing drought, floods, hunger and all other upheavals of pollution,” he said.
“Deep concerns over the rate of which forests are being depleted for firewood, charcoal and infrastructure development, without doing reasonable replacements efforts,” he added.
Other Amecea members are Catholic Bishops from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Bishop Kasonde said adverse impacts of climate change negatively affected socio-development and livelihood sustainability, challenging African governments and stakeholders to promote alternatives including the shift to renewable energy.
“Use of solar, wind and other sources of energy should be encouraged and promoted. Stakeholders should also embark into tree planting, city cleaning, effective waste management systems and others,” said the Bishop.
