Religious leaders and faithful from many traditions are today giving passers-by outside St John’s Cathedral yard signs calling for stronger climate action. The signs read “Solar saves, nuclear costs”, “No more coal and gas” and simply “Climate Action Now”.
The backdrop is a giant banner on the Cathedral that reads “No one left behind – good jobs in clean energy” which had first been raised in September 2024.
Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt, said, “Back in September we came together as people of many faiths and publicly raised our concerns about the climate very publicly by putting up a giant banner. Now, on the first day of voting, the banner is back up and we are giving out signs for people to put up at home as a way of asking people in Brisbane to vote for both climate action and a transition to renewable energy.’
“This is both the first day of voting and International Mother Earth Day. It is a time when we all need to reflect on just what we are choosing for ourselves and our children when we vote.”
“We know that if the next Parliament doesn’t act more boldly, we will only see more cyclones, droughts and heatwaves.”
“Tackling climate change is a race against time. Solar and wind are already being rolled out now. Nuclear would take until at least the mid-2030s and very likely longer. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“It’s also clear that we can’t leave any behind in the transition to clean energy. We need serious and meaningful policies in place that will make sure that there are decent jobs for the people and communities that currently rely on coal.”
With support from the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), actions similar to the one outside St John’s Cathedral are happening across the country. In this pre-election period, ARRCC has distributed over 2,200 yard signs through 86 faith communities and facilitated the raising of over 200 faith-and-climate banners on places of worship.
ARRCC also coordinated the launch of a joint video message today, featuring leaders from several religious traditions. The leaders include Reverend Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, and the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, the Most Reverend Jeremy Greaves.
In the video, renewable energy is praised as both a way of tackling the climate crisis and keeping downward pressure on energy prices.
Torres Strait Island Elder, Aunty Togiab McRose Elu, believes that “we need to tackle both of these problems at once – cost of living and the climate. It’s not one or the other.”
Venerable Bhante Sujato Bikkhu said “Wind and solar are the cheapest forms of energy. Renewables are the fastest way to bring down our power bills, and tackle the climate crisis.”
Reverend Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, said “Experts agree that for Australia nuclear energy is the most expensive form of energy by far – hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars – in large part to deal with the safety issues. Nuclear is risky.”
