Climate Action at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge

 Members of local religious groups are gathering at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Hudson on Sunday, October 17 to promote climate justice. The event is part of an international project called Faiths 4 Climate Justice.

According to a news release from the organizers, “thousands of people of faith with support from over 200 high-level faith leaders are calling on political and financial leaders to meet a series of ambitious climate demands that get at the heart of the problem.”


Those demands include an end to new fossil fuel projects and tropical deforestation; universal access to renewable energy; policies creating green jobs and a just transition for impacted workers and communities; support for those forced to migrate due to climate impacts; and reparations from the countries and industries responsible for the lion’s share of the problem.

 

The local event is sponsored by GreenFaith and the Buddhist Action Network. Participants are asked to park on either the of the bridge at 3:00 p.m. At 3:30 p.m. the two groups will assemble - one on each end of the bridge - for a brief statement of purpose. The actual walk begins at 3:50 p.m. as both groups start walking toward the center of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. When the groups meet in the middle of the bridge, there will be a moment of silence followed with the sound of drums, tambourines, and bells. 

 

Earlier in the day, faith communities are asked to host events at their places of worship or assembly to unfurl banners calling for climate action, ring bells, sound gongs and chimes, call the Azan, and sound the shofar as well as to pray or meditate. 

 

The organizers say that the walk takes place two weeks before the 26th United Nations climate negotiations in Glasgow, known as COP26. This conference, which is being called a “carbon-neutral conference," will bring nations together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.  More than 190 world leaders will participate, along with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses, and citizens for twelve days of talks between November 1-12, 2021.

 

For more information, or to register, click here.

#LSUS21 

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