A study course on the Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change has just been made available online by the International Environment Forum (IEF), a Baha'i-inspired organization addressing environment and sustainable development.

Baha'i representatives Tahirih Naylor and Arthur Dahl
discuss the Baha'i International Community’s climate initiative
with Prince Philip, Founder of the Alliance on Religion and Conservation (ARC);
Martin Palmer of ARC; and U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

Imparting a sweeping overview of both the scientific and spiritual dimensions of the issue, the free course is intended to inspire a range of appropriate actions at the grassroots level. 

Developed over the last two years, the new course draws upon the Baha'i writings as well as the sacred scriptures of other religions, in addition to the latest scientific research. People of all faiths are encouraged to form groups to study the materials together.

Peter Adriance, non-governmental (NGO) liaison for the Baha'is of the United States and a member of the governing board of the IEF, said that Baha'is have a number of reasons to be “very interested in the issue of climate change.”

“It’s not only a technical issue,” Adriance said, “but it presents a range of moral and spiritual challenges as well. For example, it’s quite evident that, although we will all be impacted by climate change, the poor countries of the world will be most affected, even though they have had the least to do with creating the problem. It’s an issue that forces recognition of our interconnectedness, as it transcends national borders.” 

Procession of faith banners at the November 2009 event
on climate change at Windsor Castle.
(Photo courtesy of ARC/Richard Stonehouse)

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the leading body established by the United Nations to provide the world with a clear, balanced view of the present understanding about climate change - concluded that climate change is “unequivocal,” adding that there is better than 90% certainty that it is being caused by human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests. The IPCC conclusion has been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.

“In the face of such strong evidence,” Adriance said, “it is critical that the peoples of the world act in a unified way to prevent future climate change and to help humanity adapt to the changes already set in motion.”

A rise in global temperatures of more than two degrees centigrade is predicted to have catastrophic effects including flooding, drought, severe storms, crop damage resulting in food shortages, and the spread of diseases, according to the IPCC’s 2007 report.

“Some climate change is inevitable given past emissions of greenhouse gasses,” Adriance said. “But if the governments and peoples of the world act responsibly and quickly enough, the worst impacts can be averted.”

Toward this end, Adriance will be part of the Baha'i delegation attending the climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December.

In early November, the Baha'i International Community announced that it was joining other major world faiths – in cooperation with the Alliance on Religion and Conservation and the U.N. Development Program – to undertake a seven year plan to address climate change. The Baha'i plan encourages the study of Baha'i teachings on the environment, with the aim of stimulating a range of effective grassroots responses to this issue.

The Baha'i International Community has also drafted an appeal to world leaders addressing the ethical dimensions of climate change, which has been endorsed by 25 non-governmental organizations, religious groups, and policy institutes.

Additional resources on the environment, and climate change in particular, can be found on the International Environment Forum’s website.