On 18th April 2016, an interfaith statement calling for urgent action on climate change will be presented to the President of the UN General Assembly in New York. FEN welcomes this call for action, and we encourage members of the public to sign the statement here.

"Food needs to be included in the strategy to alleviate global climate change
and biodiversity decline". Read more in the slide presentation by Dana Murty on the International Year of Pulses here.

Old One   

Old one

Living sculpture,
Hail melts at your base
And your curling bough-hand
Caresses the sky.

The wisdom of ages
Is engraved as scripture,
Each calligraphy stroke
An insect’s life history.

I keep thinking
‘You have lived so much …’
And we must seem
So ephemeral,
Such frantic mayflies
Here, then gone.

FEN members and staff from the Columban Mission Institute attended the launch of the FoodFaith Interfaith Community Garden on Wednesday 9 March.

Image Credit

2016 has been declared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as the International Year of Pulses.

Pulses are a type of dried legume which include split peas, lentils and chickpeas. They have been praised for their array of benefits not only for human health, but for hunger alleviation, food security, agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability - hence the decision to dedicate 2016 to these small but impressive crops (http://iyp2016.org/).

What have Ethics and Faith to say on Population and Consumption?
- A blog by Anne Lanyon

On Saturday 21^st November, 2016, the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales hosted a Seminar on Population and Consumption – the Sustainability Dialogue.

In the lead up to COP21 in Paris this December, leaders from various religious communities have released statements on climate change. FEN has a list of the available statements here. These statements may be of use for individuals or groups to use within their own faith communities.

On Wednesday 27th October, 61 prominent Australians signed an open letter calling for a moratorium on new coal mines ahead of the upcoming COP21 climate talks in Paris. FEN's Coordinator Anne Lanyon was among the signatories who addressed the letter to French President, Francois Hollande and other world leaders, in an effort to put coal on the agenda of the COP21 summit in recognition of the role of coal in contributing to climate change. 

The issue of growth has been a topic of national and international discussions in recent months, particularly since Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment and in preparation for the upcoming COP21 climate talks in Paris.

On 23 July 2015, FEN held a multifaith forum in Sydney on the topic of endless growth on a finite planet. The title of event was Healthy Earth, Endless Growth - are they compatible?

After a keynote speech by scientist and author Dr. Haydn Washington on the topic of the growth economy, five respondents from different faith traditions commented from their own faith perspectives.

A statement on the growth economy was then distributed to all participants. The statement was produced by FEN members from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.

The circulation of this statement was followed by a group discussion session, during which audience members shared their opinions and feelings regarding the topic. Here are some of the insights shared.

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