SHARM EL-SHEIKH (CNS/Agencies): “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said on November 7, as the latest climate change summit—Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change—or COP27, began, Reuters reported.
“Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” Guterres warned, adding, “Humanity has a choice: cooperate [in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels] or perish.”
In his own address to COP27, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, assured participants of Pope Francis’ “closeness, support, and encouragement” for their work, Vatican News reported on November 8.
Cardinal Parolin noted that just a few days earlier, in Bahrain, the pope expressed his hope “that COP27 will be a step forward for ‘concrete and far-sighted choices, undertaken with the younger generations in mind, before it is too late and their future is compromised’.”
The cardinal noted the “concerning sign” of the “growing phenomenon of migrants being displaced by [climate change],” saying that states must find “tangible solutions, including in the areas of adaptation, mitigation, and resilience.”
Humanity has a choice: cooperate [in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels] or perish
Antonio Guterres
Vatican News reported him as saying that where this is not possible, it is important to “increase the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration.” He added that the dangers of events like the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflicts around the world cannot overshadow the work of the COP27 parties. “Climate change will not wait for us,” he warned.
Cardinal Parolin said, “Our political will should be guided by the awareness that either we win together, or we lose together.”
Some faith and civil organisations had a long wish list of what they hoped COP27, which runs from November 6 to 18, would achieve.
Tangible action plans to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transform energy systems to renewable sources, embrace agro-ecology, and provide funding to developing countries for both climate adaptation and “loss and damage,” which refers to unavoidable or already occurring climate impacts, top their lists for delegates at COP27.
Ari Shaw-Obasogie, a senior policy and legislative specialist with Catholic Relief Services, said the Church has a critical role to ensure participants hear the voices of the people they serve who are directly affected by climate change and that the perspectives of those affected are included in major decision-making.
“The role of the Catholic Relief Services at COP27 is to bring the local perspective into the convening,” she told EarthBeat, the environmental publication of National Catholic Reporter, adding, “The Church should be the lead, and we have a role model, Pope Francis, who is at the forefront in addressing this.”
Our political will should be guided by the awareness that either we win together, or we lose together
Cardinal Parolin
Shaw-Obasogie noted that the world’s wealthiest individuals, mainly in the Global North, are primarily responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet, while people most affected by the emissions are those living in the Global South.
The World Inequality Database reported last December that the richest 10 per cent of the population produces roughly half of global emissions.
She said CRS and others will be pushing these wealthy nations and individuals during the summit to compensate people for the losses and damage that climate change has already exacerbated.
She noted that Madagascar, for example, was hit with five severe weather events— cyclones and tropical storms—from January to March this year, devastating communities. People in Africa feel they need to be compensated, since some of these weather-related disasters are caused by activities happening in other countries and by foreign-owned companies.
Father Paul Igweta of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, or AMECEA, said religious leaders expect serious commitments and willingness from governments at COP27 to tackle climate change. One demand they will raise is implementation of the Green Climate Fund to support the climate mitigation and adaptation efforts of developing countries. So far, developed nations have fallen short of their pledges to provide the fund US$100 billion [$784.9 billion] annually beginning in 2020.
As we go to COP27, we are calling for climate justice. We are calling on those responsible for climate injustice to pay for the harm they have caused. This is a matter of life and death,
Tinashe Gumbo
Father Igweta told EarthBeat that all previous agreements on climate change must be fully implemented. He said governments worldwide have pledged to slow global warming through the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement but have failed to work together for the betterment of their people.
Fossil fuel projects displace countless poor families, pollute our air and water, and destroy our biodiversity and social fabric, while entrenching corruption and enriching local and Northern elites,” said Meryne Warah, the global organising co-director for GreenFaith, an interfaith environmental coalition. “None of this reflects our religious values.”
“As we go to COP27, we are calling for climate justice. We are calling on those responsible for climate injustice to pay for the harm they have caused. This is a matter of life and death,” said Tinashe Gumbo, a Zimbabwean who is the programme executive of the Ecological and Economic Justice unit of the All Africa Conference of Churches.
