Nghe An mobilizes religions to participate in environmental protection and climate change response.

On the morning of June 4, at An Thai Pagoda, Quynh Long Commune, Quynh Luu District, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An Province coordinated with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An Province, and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee of Nghe An Province to organize a ceremony to launch religions to respond to World Environment Day on June 5 and launch propaganda on environmental protection; and launch a pilot model of "Religion protecting the environment and responding to climate change".

This is an activity to implement the plan of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front on the coordination program "Promoting the role of religions in participating in environmental protection and responding to climate change" in 2024.

Attending the launching ceremony were comrades Nguyen Duc Thanh - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province; Thai Van Nong - Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; representatives of a number of provincial-level organizations, leaders of Quynh Luu district and religious dignitaries and followers in the province.

Environmental protection and climate change response are common issues globally and in Vietnam. In Nghe An province, climate change is clearly and negatively affecting socio-economic development as well as the lives and health of people in the province.

Environmental protection and climate change response are urgent tasks and the common responsibility of the whole society; no organization, agency or individual can stand aside, including religious organizations and believers.

In recent times, religions in the province have had many models and activities to participate in environmental protection and respond to climate change; contributing to changing negative awareness, habits and behaviors towards the environment among religions and people; affirming the right direction, living a "good life, good religion" of religions, enhancing understanding, cohesion and solidarity among religions in the great national solidarity bloc.

At the launching ceremony, the leaders of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment called on departments, branches, authorities and organizations at all levels to continue to coordinate to support religions in improving the quality of communication and propaganda activities on environmental protection and climate change response in many diverse and rich forms, suitable for each religion, in order to create a positive change in awareness and behavior.

At the same time, support religious communities and people to build their own response capacity when risks and natural disasters occur by building and replicating environmental protection models and responding to climate change suitable to the characteristics and conditions of each religion and locality. Coordinate the organization of training courses to improve the capacity of environmental protection and climate change response for religions.

Along with that, it is calling on dignitaries, officials, monks and religious followers to actively respond to World Environment Day (June 5) with the theme "Land restoration, fighting drought and desertification" through propaganda activities, raising awareness and sense of responsibility for environmental protection and responding to climate change in the community, followers and religious organizations.

Religions actively mobilize followers to clean up and plant trees in residential areas and religious establishments; continue to build and replicate models and examples of environmental protection and climate change response among followers and religious organizations.

Focus on building and replicating models of classifying household waste at source; recycling and reusing waste; limiting and gradually not using disposable plastic products and hard-to-decompose plastic bags; building awareness and cultural lifestyles to protect the environment in the community; creating consensus among the people in implementing policies and guidelines on environmental protection and responding to climate change; fighting and preventing violations of environmental laws, preventing the exploitation of environmental issues to divide the great solidarity of ethnic groups, disrupting security and order...

At the launching ceremony, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province announced the decision and launched the construction of a model religious site for environmental protection and climate change response at An Thai pagoda, Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu district).

Before the launching ceremony, leaders of departments, branches, sectors, unions at the provincial and district levels of Quynh Luu, religious organizations and followers joined forces to clean the environment, collect garbage at the beach area of ​​Quynh Long commune; and plant trees in the grounds of An Thai pagoda.