Climate Compassion Pledge​

The idea of a pledge can be found in every faith. Pledging to care for Creation is a fundamental component of faith, and this is particularly true of  Islam. Correcting injustice being done to Creation is central to the global effort to address climate change. As with the Paris Accords, which reflect each country’s pledge to reduce carbon expression and assist countries harmed by it, this Climate Compassion Pledge supported by participating mosques all over the world reflects the commitment within Islam to do our part to address the climate emergency facing our earthly home.

Sadly, no developed state is willing to adequately address the harm created by decades of carbon expression. Therefore, we, the signatories below, and the world call on all faith communities to set an example and show the way.

As U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently summed up the climate crisis: “The jury has reached a verdict.  And it is damning.  This report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises.  It is a file of shame, cataloging the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world. We are on a fast track to climate disaster.  Major cities are underwater.  Unprecedented heatwaves.  Terrifying storms.  Widespread water shortages.  The extinction of a million species of plants and animals.  This is not fiction or exaggeration.  It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies.”

With this pledge, Muslims will offer the moral and Islamic example for what people of all faiths should do. Just as each individual chooses whether or not to pledge, each mosque also does the same. The mosque can realize its pledge with Rahmah (mercy) by joining with another mosque impacted by climate change, and together, working to restore Al-mizan (balance).  

Each mosque can adapt the pledge to its circumstances and ability.

Proposed pledge:

  1. I acknowledge that we are in a climate emergency. I pledge to determine my carbon footprint and to reduce it by 50% by 2030 as nations pledged to do in the Paris Accord.
  2. I agree to urge my mosque, organization, and community to acknowledge that we are in a climate emergency.  I pledge to determine the carbon footprint of our buildings and activities and to reduce it by 50% by 2030.
  3. I pledge to support my mosque by joining another mosque harmed by climate change.
  4. I pledge to cooperate with other religious organizations and faith communities to mitigate the human impact on our shared climate.
  5. I pledge to educate myself about climate change to better explain the urgency of the problem to others.  As part of my education, I pledge to complete comprehensive climate change training such as Climate Reality Leadership Training so that I can become a more effective climate advocate in my community.  
  6. I pledge to learn how to communicate effectively about climate change. For example, write effective letters and op-eds (e.g. Third Act or other organizations).
  7. I pledge to support youth and other climate activists in my mosque and community.
  8. I pledge to urge my mosque, organization, and community to adopt a curriculum that teaches the need for care of creation to our children as a central tenet of our faith.
  9. I pledge to stop using banks that provide major funding for fossil fuel extraction.

To sign the pledge Click here

For more information about the program, please contact John Kydd, Climate Compassion program manager at: jkydd@maqasid.org

Pledge partners: