Climate change – we can still make a difference

WelCom April 2021

Lisa Beech

Human activity has taken the world’s climate into uncharted territory – but we still have the ability to make a difference. This was the message Professor James Renwick of Victoria University delivered to participants at the Caring for our Common Home – The Dimensions of Laudato Si’ day, at Cardinal McKeefry School, on Saturday, 20 March.

‘We have 100 per cent control over what is happening. When we stop putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, that’s when we will be able to control climate change,’ said Professor Renwick. ‘We need to love each other, and we need to love our climate that we’ve got so used to.’

Around 70 people attended the day, organised by the Archdiocesan Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission, and hosted by Ōtari, Plimmerton and Upper Hutt parishes. The three parishes have been running a series of formation programmes about Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care for our common home.

The day’s sessions focused on change in three dimensions – spiritual, lifestyle and public sphere. Participants were offered change for spiritual formation in a number of workshops ranging from understanding Biblical passages on creation, Marian reflections on integral ecology, and examination of conscience.

The lifestyle dimension included a presentation from Cardinal McKeefry students about their ‘garden to table programme’ as well as a demonstration by Ōtari parishioners, Stuart and Estelle Henrys, on how to use a phone app to calculate a household’s carbon footprint. 

The public sphere dimension included opportunities to write submissions to the Climate Change Commission’s recently-released consultation report, banner-making activities, and introductions to composting and electric cars.

The event was supported with a grant from the Caritas Justice and Peace fund.