Climate Change Activism

Acting for the Earth, guided by our faith

Friends in Aotearoa New Zealand recognise climate change as a profound moral and spiritual challenge. The climate crisis threatens life, justice, and peace — values that lie at the heart of the Quaker faith. We are called to respond with integrity, courage, and love, working for a world where people and planet can flourish together.

This page outlines why Quakers are engaged in climate action, what we are doing, and how you can be part of this work. You don't need to be an activist or climate expert to be here.

Why climate change matters to Quakers

Climate change disproportionately harms those who have contributed least to the problem, including Indigenous communities, people living in poverty, and future generations. Quakers are guided by values such as:

  Care for the Earth

  Fairness and equality

  Peace and nonviolence

  Living simply and responsibly

These values lead us to take climate change seriously and to act in ways that protect life and support justice.

What Quakers are doing

Quakers in Aotearoa and around the world are involved in many forms of climate activism, including:

Speaking up to government and decision-makers about climate policy
Joining peaceful marches, vigils, and public events
Working with churches, faith groups, and community organisations
Supporting campaigns for renewable energy and climate justice
Creating spaces for learning, reflection, and hope
Some people take part in public protest; others work quietly behind the scenes.

All of these contributions matter.

Stories of witness

Friends have participated in movements such as School Strike for Climate, Extinction Rebellion, and local environmental campaigns.

Some Friends have felt led to risk arrest in acts of peaceful civil disobedience; others support change through quieter but equally vital work — writing letters, creating newsletters, holding worship, organising meetings, or providing care.

All these contributions are valued.

Climate Club newsletter heading

How you can get involved

You do not need to be an experienced activist to take part. There are many ways to engage, depending on your energy, capacity, and leadings. Here are some ways to get involved:

🌱 Simple and supportive actions

Join a discussion or a reflective meeting focused on climate concerns
Reduce your personal carbon footprint, make small changes in your daily life
sign up to the Climate Club Newsletter, and follow up on their suggested actions
Support climate justice organisations financially or by sharing information
Learn and reflect — individually or as part of a Quaker Meeting

📣 Speak up

Write to your local MPs and local councillors about your local issues - sea level rise, composting . . .
Make submissions to Government on climate-related policy
Attend a public meetings or community event

✊Take part in public action

Join a march, vigil, or peaceful demonstration
Take part in nonviolent direct action, if you feel ready
Support others by helping with organisation, food, or care

If you would like help finding opportunities near you, you can contact your local Quaker Meeting or reach out through our website.

Working together, finding community

Many people find climate change overwhelming or discouraging. Quakers try to respond with community, reflection, and care, supporting one another as we work for change.

If you are interested, you are welcome to:

Visit a local Quaker meeting
Talk with others who care about climate justice
Take time for quiet reflection or shared listening

We believe lasting change comes through collective effort. Friends often work in partnership with Māori, Pacific, youth-led, and community-based climate movements, listening carefully and acting with humility and respect.

What guides our action

Quakers believe that listening — to one another, to those most affected, and to our inner sense of what is right — helps us act wisely and compassionately. We aim to respond to climate change without hatred, violence, or despair.

Resources

Recommended reading and reflections:

Quakers and the Climate Crisis, a Quaker leaflet

A Call for Action — a Quaker statement

Quakers' thoughts about climate change and spirituality

Earth Friends, stories of Quaker environmentalists

Care for the Planet, a booklet by Murray Short

"Is it time for a Climate Justice Union for Aotearoa?" a report.

Stay connected

If you’d like to learn more or take part:

Contact us through this website
Talk to our Climate Correspondent for climate-related updates
Ask about local events or groups near you, such as the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum.

You are welcome to explore at your own pace.

“Let your lives speak.”

Our response to the climate crisis is one way we live out this enduring Quaker call.

Emblems of Change:

Global warming has made the earth’s atmosphere more humid, intensified precipitation, and caused glaciers to melt rapidly, according to a 2021 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change has disrupted the water cycle around the globe, which has led to more droughts, arid land, wildfires, and floods, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
More frequent and severe natural disasters that result from climate change take human lives, cause homelessness, and threaten people’s health, both physical and mental. Quakers around the world are drawing on their spiritual resources to respond to climate-related calamities.

Read Quakers' Global Response to the Climate Crisis .

Quakers and Climate Change Worldwide

Back to Faith in Action

Many Friends in Aotearoa / New Zealand have had a long and deeply-held understanding that the whole of creation is sacred. We have experienced personally the beauty and inter-connectedness of creation.

The time has come for our Yearly Meeting to affirm these leadings of the Spirit as a testimony. We need to recognise the spiritual nature of our responsibility to live with reverence for life. We want to extend our compassion for each other to compassion for all of life.

Each of us is part of the whole of life. All of life is in each of us. We grieve for the parts of our greater being that have been lost. We are driving thousands of species to extinction, causing deforestation, erosion and floods, polluting our rivers, soil, oceans and atmosphere.

Let us recognise the diversity of life, its interdependence and balance. The inherent wisdom of life astounds us. From cells to ecosystems we see a self-organising, self-repairing, co-operative whole. Our human focus needs to be widened to encompass the whole web of life. We need to change from domination to participation. The process will not be easy.

Our belief in simplicity will help us to live full and joyful lives without devouring the earth's resources. We can cheerfully do more with less.

We affirm that we are able to make a difference. Now is the time to act together trusting that the inner Light will open our eyes to the Light within the whole of creation and will lead us to our right place.

To each person life has given a unique being. We call on everyone to use that uniqueness to serve the whole.

We encourage individual Friends of all ages and all meetings to consider and amend our life-styles and to support each other in making the changes necessary as our witness to this testimony.