This article was written by a group of Brazilian organizations, including the Brazil Conference of Bishops, the Brazil Conference of Religious Brothers and Sisters, Laudato Si’ Movement, Caritas Brazil, and REPAM, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network. It is intended to complement the “Global Taskforce,” a global working group sponsored by the Brazilian government that is informing its leadership at COP30.
In light of the new letter from the Brazilian Presidency of COP30, which calls on the international community to take unprecedented action in the face of climate urgency, the Church Towards COP30 Coordination celebrates and strengthens its coordination by actively joining the Global Taskforce, placing faith and ethics at the center of planetary transformation.
Inspired by the legacy of Pope Francis, the Coordination highlights the role of the encyclical Laudato Si’ as a moral, ethical, and spiritual direction in the face of the serious socio-environmental crisis. The inclusion of the document as a guiding reference by the Global Ethical Balance Circle — led by Minister Marina Silva, under the guidance of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres — represents a direct call for the participation of religious and spiritual traditions in the process of healing the planet.
“Faith drives us to care for our Common Home with compassion and boldness. It is time for unity, for active commitment to climate justice and to the most vulnerable,” says Monsignor Paolo Andreolli, auxiliary bishop of Belém, in the State of Pará, one of the voices of the Catholic Church’s mobilization in the Amazon.
At this time when the year 2024 has been confirmed as the hottest in history and climate change is reaching alarming levels, the Church, based on the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, aligns itself with the proposal of a decentralized grassroots effort, which values local initiatives with global impact.
- The Church Towards COP 30 Coordination, composed of several organizations from the Catholic Church and the ecumenical field, expresses its enthusiasm and collaborative efforts with the Global Ethical Balance Circle.
More than a symbolic presence, the Church assumes an ethical leadership role in tackling the climate crisis by offering values, community practices, and historical experiences of solidarity, justice, and care.
“The appeal of the COP30 Presidency’s letter is clear: we need to transform hope into concrete action. And this is what the Church has sought to mobilize, encourage, and drive. Everyone can contribute, in their own way and from their own territory, with an effective response that is up to the complexity of what we are experiencing,” concludes Eduardo Nischespois, from the board of the Church’s Coordination towards COP 30.
Check out the complete letter here and join this global effort for a safe and fair climate future.