18_Buddhism and the Environment.

Buddhism and the Environment.


Ven. Acharya Lobsang Chogni (Jonathan Jesse Raichart)
Director of the Bhikṣu and Bhikṣuni Department of Association Buddha-Dharma, Valinhos, Brazil

If Buddha returned to our world now, he would definitely work to protect the environment. It is merely logical to support initiatives that help protect the environment, as it is a basic question of survival, even more so from the perspective of engaged Buddhism.
In the past years we have witnessed millions of youths protesting, calling on politicians to take action, combating climate change. This type of action is helping to educate the public, even while we are witnessing the destruction of countless ecosystems and the devastating decrease in biodiversity.
Greta Thunberg’s efforts in raising awareness to take direct action, elevating the issue of global warming among the youth is quite remarkable. She has expressed a clear sense of universal responsibility which is wonderful to see. It is important to support such beneficial projects, such as her “Fridays for Future” movement.
In this case it is our universal responsibility, each one of us, as individuals to help guide our global community in the right direction. Of course, prayers and dedications are important. Yet we also need to take personal responsibility. Small individual initiatives even give rise to global movements, as we have seen with Greta.
There is a great opportunity today for humanity to bring about change, creating a century of peace founded in dialogue and compassion. This type of movement would be best implemented from the bottom up, based on truth and founded in reason.
It is essential to choose political leaders who are committed to acting with urgency on global warming and environmental protection. At the time of writing, this trend is increasing in Northern Europe, for example. Unfortunately, far too often politicians do not take environmental protection and the climate seriously enough. Here, just as the Buddha taught, our worst enemy is ignorance.
It is essential to go beyond summits, and meetings and put into place solid timetables to enact change. Immediate action is needed to provide reason for hope. It does not make sense to sacrifice our civilization in the name of the greed of just a few.
Further, journalists can have an enormous impact, not only reporting on bad news, but also bringing awareness to people, bringing hope.
Humanity is getting very close to exceeding the carbon budget to prevent serious climate change, according to recent studies. Thus, it is necessary to make this budget the currency of our time.
As a species seven billion strong, it is imperative for humanity to have a sense of universal responsibility as the main motivation in order to bring our relationship with the environment back into balance. Developing an appreciation of the sense of oneness of all of humanity, our interdependence if you will, particularly when facing global warming, is critical for our very survival.
It is essential to think about the next generations, planning not only for this century, but for the next centuries to come. The future of every generation to come, now rests on our shoulders. Thus, we must show strong determination, and take action while it is still not too late.
Negligent mistreatment of the environment has resulted in so much harm to our human community. This has come about through ignorance of how important the environment is. Thus, it is essential to instill this knowledge within human beings through teaching others. This can also be done in Dharma settings.
It is important, if we are going to be selfish, to be wisely selfish. This means not being too narrow mindedly selfish. Here the key is the sense of universal responsibility, which is based on love, compassion and clear awareness. This gives real strength and is the real source of happiness.
For example, if our interest is to make money, it should be clear that some of the largest fortunes in the world are now being made through working to accelerate the energy transition - the transition to sustainable energy production and consumption.
A recent study by researchers at Oxford University shows that ending fossil fuel use by 2050, will actually save the global economy at least USD 12 trillion. It proves that the smart money lies in going green, which rather than difficult, is an economic boon.
Reversing desertification and transforming arid lands into lush forests utilizing desalinized sea water produced from solar and wind energy could provide abundant CO2 sequestration through afforestation, playing a key role in climate change mitigation.
Experts are predicting the historically most consequential disruption of the agricultural sector, through precision biology such as precision fermentation, freeing up 60% of land currently utilized for feed production and livestock. By dedicating this freed up land to reforestation for example, it would be possible to fully offset all current sources of greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. by 2035.
Preserving the worlds existing forests, particularly in developing countries can be incentivized through incorporating them into carbon capture, carbon trade economic models that already exist in developed countries and can be expanded to have an ever-greater impact.
The world is transitioning to sustainable energy production and consumption at an ever-increasing rate. Yet every moment counts. Thus, our practice of engaged Bodhicitta, grounded in love, compassion and universal responsibility needs to extend to incorporate putting both political and economic pressure to accelerate this transition. Education is also critical, as it was in the time of the Buddha, so also is it today.