Congress urged to consider global warming measures' impact on poor

Published: 2007-11-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' international policy committee and other religious leaders said Oct. 31 that, as Congress begins to consider measures to address global warming, lawmakers must protect "those often missing from the debate -- the vulnerable and often voiceless people at home and around the world." Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., said, "We are convinced the real 'inconvenient truth' about climate change is that those who contribute least to the problem are likely to suffer the most." He made the comments during a teleconference with reporters. Other religious leaders who participated included the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Rev. Michael Livingston, president of the National Council of Churches. "For us, the moral measure of legislation is how it protects 'the least among us' ... in our nation and on the planet we share," Bishop Wenski said. On Nov. 1 a subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 4-3 to send a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions to the full committee, which is chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Boxer said she hopes the full committee will approve the bill by the end of the year.

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