To Till and to Tend

This week, hundreds of world leaders gather in Poznan, Poland to discuss the ongoing global response to the imminent threat of climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference.  The meeting will set the stage for next year’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol will be drafted. Poznan presents yet another critical opportunity for the U.S. to step up to the plate on climate issues and make amends for our failure to take a meaningful role in past international negotiations. As a global superpower and the historic leader in CO2 emissions, we have responsibility to come to the table prepared to act.

The good news is that Senator Kerry (D-MA), incoming Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will lead the U.S. delegation to Poznan, joined by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and others. Kerry’s decision to make the trek to Poland is critical because the Foreign Relations Committee will be the first to pour over any international treaties that come out of Copenhagen. As Kerry and others outside the Committees that typically address environment issues (Energy and Commerce in the House, Environment and Public Works in the Senate) become active on climate and energy, the opportunity expands for robust debate in Washington, and U.S. leadership on this issue.

Less encouraging is the decision of the Obama transition team not to send anyone to Poland, despite repeated promises to make this a priority issue when the President-elect takes office in January. Disappointing to me, on a personal level, is the lack of Jewish presence at the Conference; while several Christian denominations and other faith groups sent representatives to monitor the negotiations and hold faith events on climate, there is no formal Jewish participation in the event. The Jewish voice on climate is steadily becoming louder and more articulate but we as a community, like our nation as a whole, are still far from leaders on this issue.

While no new treaties are expected to emerge by the time the conference closes next week, Poznan is a critical step along the path to global action to confront the climate crisis. Without serious U.S. engagement and leadership, the possibilities for a meaningful global response to climate change are severely limited. And without participating in these conferences, our Jewish voice on this issue will be dampened as well.  Politicians and faith leaders alike deserve praise for braving the cold and making the trip, and leaders who are not participating need to hear from their constituents (read: all of us!), urging them to keep climate change in the forefront.

Rachel is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant working on environment and energy issues at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. She will be a regular guest blogger on To Till and To Tend this year, posting entries every other Thursday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.

Hundreds of citizens gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to demand that our next Congress and Administration make climate change a priority during their first 100 days in office. In an event organized by the 1Sky campaign and a host of other environmental groups, these activists came together to demand that President-elect Obama honor his campaign promises to confront the climate and energy crisis. Despite freezing temperatures (yes, I realize the irony of talking about the urgency of global warming on a cold winter day), they joined with one voice to declare that the United States MUST start tackling climate change in a meaningful way if we are to avoid disastrous environmental and economic repercussions. Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Bill McKibben, environmental activist and founder of 350.org, inspired the crowd with speeches on the importance of climate change.

The first goal of the rally was to ensure that the President-elect send representatives to the international conference on climate change in Poznan, Poland in December. The world community will come together at this conference to decide how to tackle climate change moving forward, and it is vital that the U.S. represent itself at this meeting to show the world that we are finally ready to meaningfully engage and confront the climate crisis. As the activists in Washington presented a symbolic plane ticket to Poznan, thousands across the country met with the staffs of over 200 Members of Congress to ensure that they will work with the new President to cut our carbon emissions.

We are at a critical moment on this issue, as scientists agree that we are nearing (if not past) a climate ‘tipping point,’ after which we may not be able to mitigate or adapt to the worst effects of global climate change. A grassroots movement around the country is sending this message loud and clear to our government, and the Jewish community needs to be a vocal member of this coalition. Our obligations to care for our Earth and to speak out for the most vulnerable among us mean that confronting climate change is a moral and religious obligation, and a central piece of our task of ‘tikkun olam.’

To take part in the effort, you can fill out the RAC action alert urging President-elect Obama to make climate change a priority in his first 100 days in office, and visit your local elected official to send the same message in person. Visit the 1sky campaign for more information and resources, and to join the movement to make sure that this urgent problem is addressed beyond this day of action.

Rachel is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant working on environment and energy issues at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. She will be a regular guest blogger on To Till and To Tend this year, posting entries every other Thursday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.