You and your Meeting or Worship Group can join with other local faith communities to plan and prepare to be a hub of climate resilience and adaptation.
What is Climate Resilience?Resilience is the capacity of a community to respond and adapt when exposed to a climate hazard. A resilient community can withstand shocks and rebuild itself when necessary. Resilience in social systems has the added human capacity to anticipate and plan for the future. Humans depend on resilience for survival. We can prepare for climate chaos. |
What is climate Adaptation?Climate adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change that are already happening and preparing for future impacts. It is about understanding, planning and taking action to protect people and moderate potential damage to ecosystems. Ultimately, adaptation will mean changing our social and economic systems to minimize human causes of climate change. |
Why are resilience and adaptation relevant to us as Friends?
Protection from Extreme Weather
We probably can't avoid all environmental disruption, but we can plan ahead and prepare for the deleterious effects of floods, droughts, heatwaves, and other climate-related disasters in our communities.
Safeguarding Human Health
Climate change has significant implications for human health, including increased risks of heat-related illnesses, infectious diseases, and respiratory problems. We can mitigate some of these health risks by improving early warning systems, healthcare infrastructure, and emergency response capabilities in our communities.
Conserving Natural Resources and Biodiversity
By preserving biodiversity and conserving and restoring habitats, we help fulfill our obligation to other species. We also protect natural systems essential for maintaining ecological balance and responding to climate change impacts. In part, engaging local communities and incorporating indigenous knowledge develops effective strategies that respect local values, promote biodiversity, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Social Justice and Equity
Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including low-income communities, indigenous peoples, and marginalized groups. Climate resilience and adaptation strategies should be designed to prioritize equity, ensuring that everyone has equal access to resources, information, and decision-making processes. By participating in the development of local strategies, Friends can help reduce disparities and build a more inclusive society that supports the needs and rights of all.
Globally, adaptation is a justice issue, because the reality is that adaptation requires money. For example, to protect against sea level rise and increased flooding, communities might build seawalls or relocate buildings to higher ground. Developing nations with limited financial resources are less able to afford and carry out such adaptation projects. This kind of adaptation is especially difficult in places that are also facing extreme climate impacts. Globally coordinated efforts to adapt, which ensure that as many places as possible are livable, can help as climate change forces people to migrate to new places.
We probably can't avoid all environmental disruption, but we can plan ahead and prepare for the deleterious effects of floods, droughts, heatwaves, and other climate-related disasters in our communities.
Safeguarding Human Health
Climate change has significant implications for human health, including increased risks of heat-related illnesses, infectious diseases, and respiratory problems. We can mitigate some of these health risks by improving early warning systems, healthcare infrastructure, and emergency response capabilities in our communities.
Conserving Natural Resources and Biodiversity
By preserving biodiversity and conserving and restoring habitats, we help fulfill our obligation to other species. We also protect natural systems essential for maintaining ecological balance and responding to climate change impacts. In part, engaging local communities and incorporating indigenous knowledge develops effective strategies that respect local values, promote biodiversity, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Social Justice and Equity
Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including low-income communities, indigenous peoples, and marginalized groups. Climate resilience and adaptation strategies should be designed to prioritize equity, ensuring that everyone has equal access to resources, information, and decision-making processes. By participating in the development of local strategies, Friends can help reduce disparities and build a more inclusive society that supports the needs and rights of all.
Globally, adaptation is a justice issue, because the reality is that adaptation requires money. For example, to protect against sea level rise and increased flooding, communities might build seawalls or relocate buildings to higher ground. Developing nations with limited financial resources are less able to afford and carry out such adaptation projects. This kind of adaptation is especially difficult in places that are also facing extreme climate impacts. Globally coordinated efforts to adapt, which ensure that as many places as possible are livable, can help as climate change forces people to migrate to new places.
how can we best engage?
As Friends we can have a significant impact on local climate resilience and adaptation efforts:
Stay informed about climate change impacts in your area -- and the importance of resilience and adaptation. Educate yourself and others: Share information with your Meeting, friends, family, and community members to build support for local climate resilience initiatives. Start a conversation with your Meeting about how to become a climate resilient hub (see webistes below for ideas). Support climate education programs.
Collaborate with neighbors, local community organizations, environmental groups, faith groups, and government agencies to focus on climate resilience and adaptation. Attend public meetings, workshops, and town halls to voice your concerns, ideas, and support for resilience policies and initiatives, such as the following:
o Resilient design and construction standards for buildings, roads, and public spaces;
o Local green spaces and biodiversity conservation efforts. Green spaces improve local resilience by providing cooling effects, reducing flood risks, and supporting biodiversity. Plant trees and native plants, create community and pollinator-friendly gardens, and support land trusts and local initiatives that protect and restore natural habitats.
o Disaster preparedness initiatives. Some Meetings across the country have engaged with other faith communities to serve as local hubs for people who need shelter, cooling, or other support. How might we, as Friends, plan ahead for our area's climate-driven disasters that will be coming over the next five to ten years?
Advocate for policies that prioritize climate resilience and adaptation at the local, regional, and national levels. Engage with elected officials and policymakers to express your support for climate-resilient planning, sustainable land use policies, and investments in climate adaptation infrastructure. Urge decision-makers to allocate resources to climate resilience projects and ensure that vulnerable communities are included in adaptation efforts.
By taking these individual actions and actively participating in local climate resilience and adaptation efforts, Friends can contribute to building a more resilient and sustainable future. Individual actions, when combined with collective efforts, can create a significant positive impact on local resilience and adaptation initiatives.
Connections and inspiration
Click on the images below for links to these additional resources.
Meetings as climate
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Faithful resilience:
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Churches as hubs of climate resilience
This Sojourners article chronicles the stories of how three churches reimagined their land, mission, and ministry for the age of climate change.
deep adaptation
The Deep Adaptation Forum (DAF) offers free events and online platforms for people who are seeking and building supportive communities to face the reality of the climate crisis. The mission of DAF is “to embody and enable loving responses to our predicament.”
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