Op-ed | Queens-based faith leaders: Climate crisis is the moral crisis of our time
As we approach another sure-to-be sweltering and storm-drenched summer due to the continued warming of the planet, it is time to take decisive, bold action for climate justice here in NYC. As residents of Queens, we know all too well the havoc of climate destruction. Not even two years ago, eleven people in our borough were killed by flooding from Hurricane Ida. And, we’re still rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy, over a decade later. The worsening climate and ecological crisis will continue to affect everyone, but mostly the most vulnerable in our communities.
From Flushing to Jamaica, East Elmhurst to Astoria, Queens has many neighborhoods considered to be Disadvantaged Communities, or DACs, by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). DACs include poor and working-class folks, communities of color, including the many immigrant populations that make Queens so special. As the “world’s borough,” many of us have loved ones back home in our countries of origin, countries in the Global South that are even more vulnerable to the disastrous effects of climate change.
We need to stop the funding of oil and gas infrastructure, which accelerates the warming of our planet, and instead, invest in renewable energy. Creating flourishing communities is something that transcends partisan politics and can unite us all across race, class, nationality, and religion. We know this from experience in our interfaith work, with GreenFaith, an international climate justice movement; the U.N.; and more.