Abstract:
This dissertation is an explorative research paper with a central aim of exploring the potential for religious voice to become a leading moral authority within the international climate change arena. The thesis begins by reviewing the current climate change regime, noting that an ethical and/or moral response is urgently required but largely absent. The paper suggests religion has the required ethical/moral basis and capacity to carry ethical values more prominently into the international climate change arena. The proactive viewpoints of the world’s five major religions and the numerous interreligious partnerships on climate change issues indicate an increasing trend by religions to actively participate in climate change initiatives. Secularisation theory and the assumption held by many that religion does not belong in the public sphere is slowly dissipating, paving the way for active collaboration between secular and religious institutions. Evaluation of the current influence and relevance of religion within the international law arena indicates that UN bodies are increasingly amenable to religious participation. The thesis proposes that religious voice can improve the quality of decision-making within the climate change regime and this can be achieved in practical (legal, institutional) terms via the UNFCCC or directly through the United Nations system. The research intersects with both religion and law and thus necessitates an interdisciplinary approach. This involves drawing appropriate information from both law and theology in order to redefine problems outside of normal climate change governance boundaries and to reach solutions based on these new understandings.