The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Climate Change and Global Warming
[abridged text]
Human activities are causing an enormous, dangerous experiment to be conducted around the globe:
in fact, to the globe. In the atmosphere, various gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide and other trace chemicals, act like the glass of a greenhouse and trap heat near the earths surface. This natural greenhouse effect is essential for life on the planet, keeping global average temperatures warmer than they otherwise would be. But human activities are changing and enhancing this natural effect, thickening the walls of the greenhouse with significant consequences for the global climate. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and certain agricultural activities and industrial practices unleash billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment. Since the industrial revolution, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have increased by more than 30 percent to levels unsurpassed in the past 160,000 years.
The increase in the earth’s average temperature is often referred to as global warming. But since higher temperatures may not be the only effect of increased pollutants in the atmosphere, many scientists and environmentalists now prefer to use the broader term “climate change.” Scientists have discovered that in some places, climate change may cause temperatures to decrease, even if the earth’s average temperature rises, and the term global warming does not imply the other atmospheric changes, such as severe weather patterns, that are predicted to occur.
At the behest of the Reagan and first Bush Administrations, a massive international scientific effort known as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was launched to explore the scientific and policy issues associated with the climate challenge. The IPCC assembled 2,500 climate change experts and conducted one of the most thorough, comprehensive and peer-reviewed scientific inquiries in human history. In the IPCC’s 1990 First Assessment Report, scientists predicted an increase of two to six degrees Fahrenheit over the next century, and called on industrialized nations to cut global warming pollution by 60 to 80 percent. The IPCCs Second Assessment Report, issued in 1995, concluded that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernable human influence on global climate.
The Third Assessment Report, released in 2001, predicts an increase in the earth’s average temperature of as much as 10.4 degrees by 2100, more than 60 percent higher than what the IPCC predicted in its last study. An increase of this magnitude would be the most rapid change in 10,000 years. The report, approved unanimously, is the most comprehensive study on global warming. This third report cited new and stronger evidence that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is attributable to human activities, primarily the burning of oil, gasoline, and coal, which produce carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the earths atmosphere. Carbon dioxide levels have increased by 31 percent over the past 250 years, reaching a concentration unseen on the planet in 420,000 years and perhaps as far back as 20 million years.
The science is clear: unless we change our ways and stop polluting the atmosphere, the world’s climate will change even more dramatically; further increasing temperatures, raising sea levels, flooding coastal areas, threatening forests and agriculture, and spreading harmful diseases.
Climate Stewardship Act
In August 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6) was signed into law by President Bush. The bill provides subsides for gas, coal, and oil industries, the energy sources that contribute most to climate change. Supporters of the Energy Policy Act claim it enhances energy conservation and research. However, if the U.S. is to help reverse the course of climate change, future energy policy must include a hard cap on greenhouse gas emissions. A hard cap will require that industries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, providing economic incentives for those who succeed while penalizing those who do not.
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement
The Reform Movement has long been aware of the need for a sustainable energy policy that protects the earth and creates energy independence. As far back as 1969 the Reform Movement has had policy speaking out against environmental pollution....
In 2000, the Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution entitled the "National Energy Policy," which calls on households, schools, synagogues, and camps to develop environmentally sound policies and calls on Congress and the Administration to set aside the concerns of special interest and
- Encourage the development of alternative energy sources
- Close a loophole allowing sport utility vehicles, minivans, and pickup trucks (over 50% of passenger vehicles sold) to meet lower fuel economy standards than cars
- Raise CAFE standards for all passenger vehicles to a minimum of 45 miles per gallon by 2010 and 65 miles per gallon by 2020
- Support investment in environmentally friendly energy technologies
- Phase out all subsidies for coal, oil, and nuclear industries by 2005
- Provide tax credits for investments to make homes and buildings more energy efficient
- Create progressively strict emissions standards, including carbon dioxide emissions, for all power plants regardless of fuel source or age.
In 2001, the URJ adopted policy opposing drilling in the Arctic Refuge and in the resolution the Movement specifically referenced fuel economy. We believe that our nation's energy needs can be better met through energy efficiency, conservation, and the development of alternative energy sources.
Jewish Values and Climate Change
Jewish tradition emphasizes many values that speak to our nation’s need for energy policies that are environmentally responsible and that pay due attention to the public health and safety of present and future generations. Humankind has a solemn obligation to improve the world for future generations. Addressing climate change requires us to learn how to live within the ecological limits of the earth so that we will not compromise the ecological or economic security of those who come after us. Genesis 2:15 emphasizes our responsibility to protect the integrity of the environment so that its diverse species, including humans, can thrive. The human being was placed in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it. Similarly, Jewish tradition teaches us that human domain over nature does not include a license to abuse the environment. The Talmudic concept bal tashchit, “do not destroy,” was developed by the rabbis into a universal doctrine that dramatically asserted God’s ownership of the land. Psalm 24 notes, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” From this basic concept it follows that any act of destruction is an offense against the property of God.
Energy policy must also be equitable and just, as the Torah commands, “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). The countries most responsible for climate change should be those most responsible for finding a solution to the problem.
Judaism also underscores the moral imperative of protecting the poor and vulnerable. When one loves righteousness and justice, “the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Eternal” (Psalms 33:5). Indeed, poor nations are likely to bear the brunt of the negative impacts associated with climate change.
