Climate Justice Working Group

by Margaret McCasland
Easton Meeting

This summer, the Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG) was able to drop the “ad hoc” from their name when they were approved as a working group under the care of the Witness Coordinating Committee, with the following mission: The Climate Justice Working Group encourages and supports direct action to reduce global warming and other harmful human effects on the environment and to restore Earth’s ecosystems for the good of all life. By providing resources that will be informative, interactive, action-oriented, and rooted in Quaker witness and testimonies, we hope to inspire action both within and outside the New York Yearly Meeting community.

During Summer Sessions, we got to celebrate Friends Fiduciary Corporation’s decision to fully divest from fossil fuels, which our working group and our yearly meeting had been discussing with them for over a year, both formally and informally (See minute 2020-07-16 from July 21, nyym.org/content/minutes-summer-sessions-2020.)

The CJWG offered three interest groups which reflect the range of our work: Peter Close coordinated a group on “Green Investing in a Friendly World,” where we learned about a range of options for institutions and individuals to make investments which are both ecological and ethical. Diane Keefe coordinated presentations by people active in public policy to promote “Clean Energy” in CT, NJ, and NY. Margaret McCasland coordinated a workshop on using the new form, “Sharing Climate Solutions around NYYM.” Any Climate Justice or Earthcare projects you are working on can be reported via the link on the CJWG page: nyym.org/committee/climate-justice-working-group.

Work in all three areas (green investing, ecological energy policy, and sharing climate solutions) is continuing. We are also considering ways to focus more explicitly on climate justice issues. Everyone is welcome to join us.