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Christian-Muslim Dialogue on Climate Change With Delegations from the National Association of Evangelicals and the Kingdom of Morocco June 19, 2008 – The World Bank Bringing Faiths Together to Address Common Concerns theology, in climate change. On a broader level, and important for the long-term relations between the In June 2008, the World Bank hosted a remark- two communities, the meeting demonstrated to both able gathering of Moroccan Muslims and U.S. Evangeli- parties a clear instance on which they are united. See- cals on an issue of urgent and common concern: global ing the success of the climate change meeting, the two climate change. groups agreed to broaden their dialogue to include a The event, part of a longer dialogue program wider set of faith and interfaith communities in the between the U.S. National Association of Evangelicals United States and the Arab world on issues of climate and an official delegation from the Kingdom of -Mo change. rocco, was meant to showcase the common thread of The following report summarizes prominent “Creation Care” – religiously-inspired care for the environment (see Box 1) – shared by diverse faith back- Box 1: Evangelical Engagement grounds. The World Bank, which has on Climate Change been a convener of faith and devel- opment partnerships since the late The U.S. Evangelical community has become a global leader in climate 1990s, offered technical expertise change advocacy over the past several years. In 2006, the Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI) released a statement entitled “Climate Change: An Evangelical and background for the meeting. Call to Action.” The declaration has 124 senior evangelical leaders as signatories, The NAE delegation was led including Rick Warren, author of best-seller The Purpose Driven Life; David Neff, by President Leith Anderson and editor of Christianity Today; and Todd Bassett, national commander of the Salva- Vice President for Governmental tion Army. Led by Jim Ball, President of the Evangelical Environmental Network, Affairs Richard Cizik, both widely the ECI lobbies top policy-makers for federal legislation to limit carbon dioxide known for their involvement in emissions. Following some discord (in 2006 it stated that “global warming is not advocacy on climate change. The a consensus issue”), the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has become Moroccan delegation, led by Am- the leading evangelical Christian voice in advocating on climate issues. In Janu- bassador Aziz Mekouar, included ary 2007, NAE Vice President Richard Cizik and Nobel-laureate Eric Chivian, di- prominent Moroccan academics and rector of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical government figures active in envi- School, led a group of scientists and evangelicals calling for urgent changes in val- ronmental work. Katherine Marshall, ues, lifestyles, and public policy to address global warming. NAE President Leith Anderson is now a signatory of the ECI’s “Call to Action.” Additionally, the NAE of the World Bank and Georgetown has been directly involved through its “Creation Care” environmental protection University, and Michael Kirtley, initiative, with outreach materials that address issues of climate change in faith president of the Friendship Caravan, communities at the grassroots. moderated the dialogue. The meeting achieved the short-term goal of exploring the • Evangelical Climate Initiative - http://christiansandclimate.org/ • National Association of Evangelicals - http://www.nae.net/ common Muslim and Christian Evangelical interest, grounded in themes and remarks from the meeting. the climate change problem, and touched uncertainties inherent in predicting climate change’s effects and in Welcoming Remarks: assessing possible responses to the crisis. He stressed Climate Change as a Development Challenge that climate change, as a problem that moves beyond national boundaries, cultures, and religions, must be The common thread that brought the World addressed in a cooperative manner. Bank, the Moroccan Muslims, and the U.S. Evangelicals Michele de Nevers, Senior Manager of the together was a concern about climate change as a devel- Environment Department, highlighted parallels be- opment challenge that has its most direct effects on the tween the U.S. Evangelicals’ climate change advocacy world’s poorest countries and people. In welcoming the strategy and the World Bank’s Strategic Framework delegations Warren Evans, the World Bank’s Environ- on Climate Change and Development. Both strategies ment Director, highlighted that the Bank views climate view climate change in the context of its effects on the change as a crucial and cross-cutting development is- world’s poorest citizens. She stressed that leadership in sue. He underscored that faith and interfaith communi- reducing CO2-intensity in production and consumption ties play pivotal roles as advocates working to build the must come from the developed countries, which have political will needed for policies that could reverse the the technology and institutional capacity to make the buildup of carbon in the atmosphere and also, in the needed reductions future, help developing and vulnerable countries cope Luis Constantino, Manager for Environment, with the most damaging effects of climate change. Agricultural and Rural Development, and Social De- Leith Anderson of the NAE emphasized in his velopment in the Middle East and North Africa for the remarks how the Evangelical movement sees care for Bank, elaborated how higher temperatures, declining the environment as an integral part of to its mission rainfall, and environmental volatility pose challenges to alleviate poverty. He emphasized how fruitful he for Morocco’s economy. Desertification is already oc- thought that cooperation between Evangelical Chris- curing in North Africa, as the Sahara Desert covers tians and Muslims on the issue could be, given that an ever-widening area. Coastal areas, integral to the both Islam and Evangelical Christianity are growing economic vitality of the region, will be affected by ris- quickly in terms of numbers of adherents. ing sea levels and flooding. Constantino made the dire prediction that the region could expect to see the emer- World Bank Presentations on Climate Change gence of a population of “climate refugees” – people forced from their homes or livelihoods by a changing World Bank environmental specialists held a environment. technical session on the implications of climate change which backgrounded the discussion (see Box 2). Rich- ard Damania, Environmental Economist in the South Religiously-Inspired Social Advocacy Asia region, highlighted the immense complexity of The Bank presentations provided a context even in the face of criticism of such dialogue from some for the later discussions on the respective theological quarters of both faith communities. During his lunch- concerns motivating the Evangelicals and Muslims to time address, Rick Love spoke to the perceptions and speak and act on climate change. Abdelmajid Tribak, misperceptions of conversion in international develop- head of Morocco’s Koranic TV Network and a member ment work between Muslim and Christian communi- of the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs, spoke to ties (Love is currently a member of the Reconciliation the importance of environmental protection in the Program at the Yale Divinity School’s Center for Faith Islamic tradition, citing a rich array of Quranic verses. and Culture, a program that emphasizes Christian- Similarly, Leith Anderson traced Evangelical activism Muslim understanding and cooperation – see Box 3). on climate change to Christian Biblical interpretations. Anouar Majid, Chair and Professor of English at the He described the interplay between environmental degradation and its Box 2: World Bank-Faith Community adverse effects on the poor as further reasons propelling Evangelicals to act. Engagement on Climate Change He noted that in recent years these Through an ongoing series of dialogues and consultations, the World concerns had been translated into con- Bank’s Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics has partnered with the crete action not only on environmental Bank’s Environment team to engage faith leaders and communities on issues issues but also on global poverty chal- of climate change. In January 2005, the Bank hosted a diverse set of Catholic, lenges. Evangelical, and Orthodox Christian and Jewish leaders, alongside scientists and NGO leaders, to dialogue on interfaith cooperation and responses to climate change. More recently, in April 2008, a delegation of leaders from the National Interfaith Dialogue Religious Coalition on Climate Change met with Bank specialists, focusing on faith communities’ ethical and moral commitments to respond to climate change The importance of the meeting in developing countries. as an opportunity for frank and pro- ductive interfaith dialogue was noted The June 2008 dialogue between U.S. Evangelical and Moroccan Muslim frequently by both sides throughout leaders forms part of these ongoing efforts, and fits within the World Bank Environment Department’s global consultations toward a Strategic Framework the meeting. All agreed that the dis- on Climate Change and Development. The global consultations include a far- cussions were enriching and pertinent, reaching set of stakeholders, including the United Nations and other international and that more discussions of this na- organizations, representatives of national governments, the private sector, and

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