Background

 

For many years, Faith Based Organizations and religious representatives have been present as advocates at intergovernmental meetings such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties and have attempted to raise the profile of religious engagement on climate issues. This engagement has become more needed as the impacts of climate change increase and the international community continues to struggle to implement a “whole of society” approach.

  • Faith Based Organizations have long played a deeper role in international climate negotiations than most people realise. Pope Francis published in 2015 “Laudato Si”, in which he urged the world’s more than 1bn Catholics to increase their efforts to tackle global warming.
  • The Vatican has since formalised its seat at the negotiating table. The Holy See ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2022.
  • Pope Francis underlines the importance of urgent action in our collective response to the environmental crisis, in a message for the launching of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: “The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a call for the protection and revival of ecosystems across the and runs from 2021 to 2030, which is the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals“.

UNEP Faith for Earth Coalition

 

The UNEP Faith for Earth Coalition and its partners have engaged Faith Based Organizations at COP26 and COP27. At this year’s COP28 in Dubai, UNEP Faith for Earth and its partners have formed a strategic partnership with other Faith Based Organizations and global initiatives to host a first-of-its-kind Faith Pavilion (The Interfaith Coordination Group on Climate Change). This presence at the international climate negotiations will provide a unique opportunity for dialogue, capacity building, information sharing, and engagement with key stakeholders including civil society actors, negotiators, and political decision makers.

 

COP28 Faith Pavilion

 

The first ever Faith Pavilion at a World Climate Conference is hosted by the Muslim Council of Elders in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a diverse coalition of global partners including the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, the Episcopal Diocese of California, the Peace Department, the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), and over 50 faith organizations.

  • Pope Francis plans to come to the Faith Pavilion for an inaugural session on December 3, 2023. 
  • Situated at the heart of COP28, adjacent to the World Climate Action Summit and negotiations zones, the Faith Pavilion hosts more than 65 sessions. They bring together religious and other civil society representatives, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, youth, and political leaders. The Pavilion symbolizes global and multifaith collaboration in addressing the human-made climate emergency.
  • It facilitates intergenerational dialogue, furthers the role of religion and spirituality in the climate movement, and advocated for long-term, holistic solutions to protect the Earth and its climate.
  • The Pavilion provides a unique opportunity for faith-based engagement with key stakeholders, including political delegations, decision makers, negotiators, and business leaders to ensure swift and effective climate action. 

Organizers 

 

  1. The Muslim Council of Elders is an independent international organization that aims to promote peace within Muslim communities and between Muslim communities and non-Muslim communities. https://www.muslim-elders.com/en  
  2. The Faith for Earth Coalition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) promotes faith leadership, faith-based organizations, and communities as custodians of far-reaching, value-based perspectives on environmental sustainability. https://www.unep.org/about-un-environment/faith-earth-initiative
  3. The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development connects religion and ecology and galvanizes faith communities’ action and teaching on environmental sustainability. https://interfaithsustain.com
  4. The Episcopal Diocese of California, also known as the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area, serves a diverse community of faith encompassing the greater San Francisco Bay Area. https://www.diocal.org  
  5. The Peace Department is a non-profit, designed to achieve peace through sustainable development and tackles the greatest threats to peace, including climate change, inadequacy in global coordination, resource scarcity, social and economic inequity. https://www.peacedepartment.global
  6. The International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) convenes governments, multilateral entities, academia, religious and other civil society actors to amplify contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). https://www.partner-religion-development.org

Vision

 

Addressing the impacts of human-induced climate change requires interdisciplinary cooperation and efforts across all segments of society including from religious, spiritual, and Indigenous traditions. In recognition of this vital need for collaboration, the Faith Pavilion aims to serve as a platform for problem solving, partnership, and the proposal of holistic recommendations to advance environmental justice.  

 

As part of COP28, the Pavilion will be a dedicated space for different faiths, traditions, and perspectives to come together to achieve a better future for planet Earth and humanity, while engaging new audiences on innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

 

Mission

 

The Pavilion will consist of programming centered around the following strategic objectives:

  1. Encourage faith-based organizations (FBOs) to engage with country delegates and increase their capacity to advocate
  2. Hold daily updates on the negotiations and provide guidance to FBOs  
  3. Identify priority negotiation topics where FBOs can most effectively use their knowledge and experience  
  4. Work alongside other observers including youth, women organizations, and Indigenous groups  
  5. Increase visibility for environmental advocacy work by FBOs  
  6. Highlight the many intersections between religion and the science of climate- related issues including climate justice, adaptation, mitigation, cultural heritage, and nature-based solutions.
  7. Partner with other observer NGOs
  8. Promote multifaith understanding  
  9. Mobilize global multifaith collaboration  

The Interfaith Coordination Group on Climate Change hosted a thematic consultation part of the interfaith coordination process for COP 28; Understanding Adaptation and Mitigation a session to highlight the importance of context-specific adaptation and mitigation knowledge sharing, including non-traditional stakeholders such as Faith Based Organizations, in partnership with The Global Adaptation Network in collaboration and Jessica Troni Head of UNEP’s Climate Change Adaptation Unit.

 

The pavilion sessions are organized in thematic days, aligning with COP28 focus. For example:

  • Day 2: World Climate Action Summit COP27 Adaptation Agenda With sessions around faith matter in achieving the Global Goal on Adaptation, building and promoting climate resilience, but also the role of youth.
  • Day 3: World Climate Action Summit Loss & Damage With sessions around the role of Faith-Based humanitarian actors, ecology Faith-Based strategies, Faiths and Fossil-Fuel Proliferation, Faith and Nature restoration and the role of Intergenerational Dialogue.

An historic event; Confluence of Conscience – Abu Dhabi 6-7 November 2023

The Global Faith Leaders’ Summit brought together 28 faith leaders and more than 150 participants representing youth, women, scientists, academia and politicians to sign the ‘Confluence of Conscience: Uniting for Planetary Resurgence’ known as ‘The Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement for COP28‘, committing to addressing climate change and raising climate ambitions ahead of COP28, which reflects the importance of strategies to enhance the role of religious leaders and symbols in contributing toward achieving climate justice. Attendees concluded the event by promising to do more to help their respective faith communities cut emissions and adapt to climate change.

 

10 main points from the Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement on Climate Change:

  1. Call on the world and decision makers convened at COP28 to take decisive actions to save the world from the climate crisis
  2. Support from the Faith Pavilion at COP28
  3. Emphasise the necessity of combining science, traditional knowledge, and religion
  4. Advocate for the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
  5. Back the enhancement of the experience of religious institutions in dealing with climate shocks.
  6. Provide the necessary financing to drive green development and economy
  7. Promote the leading role of religious leadership in combating climate change
  8. Endorse the religious discourse that calls for tangible actions towards sustainable development
  9. Respect the sanctity of life, nature, and the inherent value of all beings
  10. Support environmental equality, justice, fairness, and equality principles for the prosperity of the world.

Interfaith Statement Link

 

COP28 Blue Zone

 

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Tags: Background to COP28 Faith Pavilion, The Interfaith Coordination Group on Climate Change, Vision - Mission of Faith Pavilion at COP28