
Cooler Earth
Image Courtesy of World Council of Churches
After releasing in 2020 the research paper Cooler Earth - Higher Benefits: Actions by those who care about children, climate and finance, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is launching a tool to be used online or in print, encouraging young people to promote financial choices in response to the climate crisis.
"Churches' Commitments to Children stresses under Commitment 2 that churches will try to make decisions together with children when such decisions have something to do with children’s lives,” said WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Phiri. “This new poster will be very useful for churches' intergenerational efforts for climate justice and for planning activities for children together with children.”
The Cooler Earth poster presents a pathway with three main steps that can help identify climate-safe banks. Several resources are connected that invite young generations to undertake simple actions to hold big banks accountable for climate change.
“The tool we are launching today supports young generations to be protagonists of a world with climate-friendly financial choices,” said Frederique Seidel, WCC program executive for Child Rights. “All churches and partners are warmly encouraged to use this new resource throughout the year, by incorporating it into curricula and intergenerational initiatives. One upcoming opportunity is World Earth Day on April 22 when the poster can support churches and partners to mark this important day by bringing hope through concrete and simple climate solutions.”
The WCC's Child Rights program developed two versions of the poster, considering potential dissemination restrictions connected to the COVID-19 pandemic: an online version for sharing on social media channels and a print version for displaying in church buildings, schools, health facilities and other locations.
All the material connected to the Cooler Earth publication was created as a result of the Churches’ Commitments to Children initiative, winner of the Keeling Curve Prize in 2019.
Download the print version here
Churches Commitment to Children action plan
New WCC toolkit empowers churches to work with children and youth for climate justice
This article is part of United Methodist Insight's participation in the April 12-22 joint coverage "Living Through the Climate Emergency" sponsored by Covering Climate Now, a coalition of more than 450 publications worldwide devoted to enhanced reporting on the global climate crisis.