{"id":1252,"date":"2011-12-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/speakers-address-ethical-response-to-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:53:10","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:53:10","slug":"speakers-address-ethical-response-to-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/speakers-address-ethical-response-to-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers address ethical response to climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/SCE-BahaiCentre_0664.jpg\" alt=\"Speakers address ethical response to climate change\" \/><figcaption>Baha&#8217;i Centre of Learning, Hobart, Tasmania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>International and Australian speakers addressed &#8220;the ethical responses to climate change&#8221; at a conference held at the Baha\u2019i Centre of Learning for Tasmania this month.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The annual conference of the International Environmental Forum (IEF) took place at the Baha\u2019i Centre of Learning for Tasmania in Hobart, a building that has won worldwide attention because of the sustainability of its design.<\/p>\n<p>A keynote speaker was Arthur Dahl, the president of the International Environmental Forum, a Baha\u2019i-inspired organisation based in Geneva.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAround the world, there is growing awareness that there are ethical and moral questions at the root of the climate change crisis,\u201d Dr Dahl told the conference, which was held 10-11 December.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are questions of justice and equity that will determine the survival of cultures, ecosystems, and present as well as future generations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Dahl said climate change is a global problem requiring the collaboration of all states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClimate change may be the common threat that forces governments to work together in their common interests,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>A distinctive feature of the conference was that it brought together thinkers from a wide range of perspectives: scientific, activist, religious and artistic.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Adriance, the environmental liaison officer for the Baha\u2019is of the United States, said Baha\u2019i environmental involvement is rooted in three principles:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>nature is a reflection of the Divine<\/li>\n<li>all things are inter-connected and flourish according to the law of reciprocity<\/li>\n<li>humanity is one, the fundamental truth shaping our age.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tony Press, CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania, spoke of the responsibility all of us share.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are the first generation with the capacity to see what we\u2019ve done to the planet, to model the future and make choices about it,\u201d Dr Press said.<\/p>\n<p>Al Riebau, principal scientist at Nine Points South Technical, said governments had made significant achievements in recent decades, reducing the impact of acid rain, ozone depletion and air pollution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t give up on governments and the political process completely,&#8221; Dr Riebau said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beyond partisanship<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Natalie Mobini, Director of the Office of External Affairs for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, said many people were understandably disillusioned with the failure of the partisan political system to address complex social challenges such as climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow can we move beyond partisanship to create innovative governance alternatives that are democratic, non-competitive, and serve the common good?\u201d Dr Mobini said.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Boyer, founder of Climate Tasmania, expressed optimism about the many practical solutions that have emerged to reduce energy consumption and address climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe tipping point that leads to action may not be as far away as we think,&#8221; Mr Boyer said.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Houstein, executive officer of Sustainable Living Tasmania, said individuals could dramatically reduce their energy use by living and meeting their needs locally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe may have to do without many things we like, but there is also an opportunity for a more positive, happier and healthier future,&#8221; Mr Houstein said.<\/p>\n<p>Gareth Johnston, director of Future Ready, echoed the call to build strong local communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best insurance is in our local communities \u2013 working together and using our capacities,&#8221; Mr Johnston said.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam Pepper, secretary of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), said climate change was not only a technological problem, but more deeply a spiritual one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe language we [faith communities] bring to the discussion is important&#8211;we add words like love, compassion and justice into the public sphere,&#8221; Dr Pepper said.<\/p>\n<p><strong> Attitudes and skills<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tessa Scrine, a member of the Baha\u2019i Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, spoke on how the Baha\u2019i community is responding to climate change by learning to apply Baha\u2019i teachings to serve and transform society.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Scrine said participants in the worldwide Baha\u2019i institute process learn to become protagonists of their own social and economic development, and acquire the attitudes and skills to undertake sustained social action and contribute to the current discussions in society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany other people are also contributing to the processes of integration and transformation in the world, and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with them,&#8221; Ms Scrine said.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Arini Beaumaris, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha\u2019is of Australia, provided a Baha\u2019i perspective on the ethical and moral capacities required to address climate change: self-evaluation, learning through action, initiative, perseverance, self-discipline, rectitude of conduct, and systematic thinking.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iefworld.org\/conf15\">View conference presentations<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.10150580146570883.448777.351303140882&amp;type=1&amp;l=81340f4093\">View conference photos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International and Australian speakers addressed &#8220;the ethical responses to climate change&#8221; at a conference held at the Baha\u2019i Centre of Learning for Tasmania this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Speakers address ethical response to climate change - Australian Baha&#039;i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/speakers-address-ethical-response-to-climate-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Speakers address ethical 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