COP25: “It is our Christian duty to care for creation”

11 December, 2019

The Conference of European Churches and the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) are part of the ecumenical team, contributing to the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) under the leadership of the World Council of Churches. The summit is taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December.

“Churches and faith communities as part of the civil society are making their presence felt at the COP25,” said ECEN Secretary Rev. Dr Peter Pavlovic, representing CEC at the summit. “Churches see closely human induced climate change causing draughts, extensive floods and changing of weather pattern all over the world as an existential challenge.”

“It is our Christian duty to care for creation and not lose sight of those, who suffer from climate change, as the most vulnerable are not detachable from our understanding of the gospel. Therefore, addressing climate change needs to include dimension of global justice,” added Rev. Pavlovic.  

The ecumenical delegation at COP25 is contributing to a number of events taking place in Madrid these days, including ecumenical prayer service prepared in a cooperation with the Spanish Evangelical Church, panel discussions and handing over of an interfaith declaration to the leadership of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as monitoring negotiations of official delegates related to the follow up of the Paris Agreement.

COP25 is designed to take the next steps in the UN climate change process. Following agreement on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement at COP 24 in Poland last year, a key objective is to complete several matters with respect to the full operationalisation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

COP25 is meant to prepare the format for official stock of the pledges that governments around the world have committed. These pledges are meant to reduce carbon emissions aiming to keep climate change well below 2 degrees of Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 C. Revision and hopeful upscaling of the pledges is planned for next year, 5 years after adopting the Paris Agreement.

Learn more about the European Christian Environmental Network

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