The Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology

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Webinar: From Ecological Debt to Ecological Hope

Filed Under: Activities, Take Action

ORCIE invites members of religious congregations and friends to: From Ecological Debt to Ecological Hope on March 18, 2024 1h EST with Guest Speakers: Journalist Elton Bozzetto, Sr. Nilva Dal Bello, CSJ Brazil & Dr.Sue Wilson, CSJ Canada, with Sasquia Antunez Pineda, ORCIE Advocacy and Communications Officer (with full translation)

Join us to hear from religious in Canada and Brazil and for small group discussions about our call to action and hope. How can we amplify the voices of religious in the Global South in this Jubilee campaign? How can we spread the word on the crushing unjust and unpayable debts facing so many countries around the world?

Learn more with ORCIE’s new position paper: Linking Ecological Debt to Global Financial Exploitation. A shorter executive summary is available. 

We look forward to an invigorating discussion!

Global Divestment Announcement: 27 more faith institutions announced their divestment

Filed Under: News, Take Action

At the start of COP29, ORCIE worked with the international Laudato Si’ Movement to include news from 3 Canadian organizations – Saint Paul University, OMI Lacombe and the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary – who recently divested from fossil fuels. Together we are sending a strong signal to negotiators at the start of the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan that fossil fuels are morally unacceptable, given the negative climate, biodiversity and human rights impacts of extracting, transporting and burning fossil fuels.

“Fossil fuel divestment is a powerful and prophetic step, recommended by the Vatican, which an increasing number of Catholic institutions are taking in response to the growing climate crisis” shares James Buchanan, divestment campaigner for the Laudato Si Movement. “The fossil fuel industry has consistently demonstrated that it is not prepared to take the action needed to avert climate chaos, with several major oil companies rowing back on climate commitments in the last year.”

Together we are calling for all faith institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies and invest in clean energy solutions.

Register your commitment here! Divestment – Laudato Si’ Movement

Read OMI Lacombe Canada press release: Press Release OMI Lacombe Canada divests financial holdings in fossil fuel companies – OMI Lacombe

ORCIE joins coalition of organizations in advocating for $1 billion

Filed Under: Advocacy, News, Take Action

Youth Climate Corps investment

Over 180 faith-based organizations and civil society groups have officially endorsed the Youth Climate Corps open letter launched on December 4, 2024. The launching event hosted by the Youth Climate Corps campaign and Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac) on Parliament Hill brought together a broad coalition advocating for a transformative Youth Climate Corps to address Canada’s climate and workforce challenges. Over 180 organizations, including ORCIE, are calling on key ministers to commit to an initial $1 billion investment for the program’s national, large-scale rollout.

See Open Letter and ORCIE’s endorsement here: An Open Letter to Federal Political Leaders in Support of a Youth Climate Corps

ORCIE was present at the launching event along partners from KAIROS