Scientific and technical knowledge alone will be insufficient to address the scale of innovation, motivation and moral transformation needed to address climate change, according to the Baha’i International Community.

In a statement to the Lima Climate Change Conference (COP 20), the BIC said the role of religion and religious groups will also be vital – along with science – in solving the challenge posed by global warming and other climate impacts anticipated in the near future.

“Religious communities and their leaders therefore have an indispensable role to play in the realm of climate change,” said the statement.

“Historically, humanity’s growing impact on the climate was closely tied to remarkable advances in industry and production. Placing our ongoing advancement on more ecologically sustainable foundations will require a similarly robust spirit of ingenuity and intellectual inquiry,” said the statement.

“The capacity to build a shared sense of vision and pursue it through acts of collective volition, to sacrifice for the well-being of the whole, to trust, and to give freely and generously to others will be critical to the work ahead,” it continued.

“Religion and science provide complementary insights into the shaping of individual and collective life. Both impact choices and priorities, and both will be required in the just and sustainable ordering of the affairs of humankind,” the statement said.

The full statement can be read here.