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A BENDIGO welfare agency has cited the teachings of Pope Francis as inspiration for a pledge to become more environmentally friendly.
CatholicCare Sandhurst has become a signatory of the Central Victorian Fossil Fuel Free Charter.
“For us this means choosing an electricity provider committed to investing only in new, 100% renewable energy sources,” chief executive officer Peter Richardson said.
“It also means changing our default super fund to one committed to making no fossil fuel investments and informing staff of committed fossil fuel free super options and the rationale for this.”
The organisation’s pledge comes less than a week after Pope Francis presented the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, with a copy of his writings on climate change.
“Pope Francis’ recent teaching on ecology and climate, calls for the urgent phasing out of fossil fuels due to their role in causing climate change and ultimately, poverty,” Mr Richardson said.
“Climate change, whether through natural disasters or temperature and rainfall changes, impacts hardest on the poor who we are charged with serving, making it a key social justice issue.”
Further motivations included the acceptance that rural and regional people will be hit hardest by climate change.
“It thus makes sense for us to join this regional pledge to shift our business towards an economy that does not harm our earth but is in fact more in harmony with the ecological basis of life,” Mr Richardson said.
“We encourage all to follow this lead.”
The Centre for Non-Violence, ARC Justice, Lyttleton Street Medical Clinic and The Old Church on the Hill are among the 173 divestors listed on the charter website.
Bendigo Sustainability Group became the city’s first community organisation to sign the charter at its launch in Bendigo in September.
In addition to signing the charter, CatholicCare Sandhurst has registered with #Mercy2Earth, a global Catholic climate movement.