Religious leaders at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: Greg O’Donnell

CHANTAL ABITBOL

WITH world figures set to meet in Copenhagen next month to thrash out plans to protect the environment, a group of religious leaders from around Australia converged on Parliament House in Canberra to lobby the Government for a tougher emissions trading scheme.

The leaders, who represented a cross-section of faiths and included Emanuel Synagogue’s Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, met with Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong late last month with a list of requests.

It marked the first time religious leaders in Australia have come together to create a unified public stance on the issue.

Among their requests were for Australia to reduce emissions by up to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2020, and for the Government to contribute billions of dollars annually to help developing countries adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
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