Archbishop of Canterbury issues Rio Summit message

“What kind of a world do we want to leave our children?” asks the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in a video message prepared for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference will be held in Rio de Janeiro from June 20 to 22.

This question extends beyond access to clean water, a secure supply of food and sustainable methods of agriculture and development, says Williams. “…it’s a question of what kind of habits and what kind of lifestyle we want to leave to our children, what sort of skills we want to see them developing in living sustainably in this world.”

Williams says governments need to promote programs that encourage waste reduction and the “greening” of economies. Faith communities, he adds, must collaborate and support governments in that vision.