Interfaith Forum on Sustainability, 21 March 2011

I was invited to speak at this event jointly organised by Shrinking the Footprint (The Church of England national environmental campaign) and the London School of Jewish Studies.

Present at the event were The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks and Lord Marland, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Energy & Climate Change. Participants included local religious leaders from a number of faiths; NGOs; local activists and members of the British Council.

The day focussed on practical suggestions for religious institutions to reduce their carbon footprint at the same time as providing ethical and theological inspiration for social change and environmental responsibility. Suggestions ranged from more interfaith dialogue and leadership, to greater use of religious buildings and increasing their energy

efficiency.

My presentation, using a short clip from Beyond the Tipping Point?, was on the subject of “the theological bases of environmental stewardship”. A short extract can be viewed here (coming soon…). I reflected on the language of apocalypse, time and eschatology in relation to climate change tipping points and what these meant for environmental steward

ship.

A short film and written report from the event are coming soon from Shrinking the Footprint.