Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of “a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all” (C.1). This crisis requires immediate and decisive action.
In the next twelve months, COP29 and COP30 will take place, and these conferences will be critical junctures for the global community in addressing the climate emergency. In the spirit of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and his recent exhortation Laudate Deum, the Jesuits for Climate Justice Campaign calls on all people of faith and goodwill to raise their voices to support a just future.
Climate change is one of the ‘signs of the times’ calling for inclusive actions, especially urgent for the poor and the youth. The Jesuits, mission partners and friends are united in taking an inclusive approach in calling on governments and the COP delegates to:
1.Make the Loss and Damage Fund effective. We call for the Loss and Damage Fund to be immediately implemented and grant-based. This fund must provide sufficient resources to address the devastating impacts of climate change so that the most vulnerable communities, especially in the Global South, are effectively supported and prioritised.
2.Cancel climate debt. We call for cancelling debts, primarily the Global South’s unpayable debts. Debt cancellation will free up their resources for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and to invest in a sustainable future.
3.Call for a just energy transition. We call for a just energy transition that, while shifting towards low-carbon economies, respects Indigenous rights, reveres nature, stops plastic pollution and prioritises sustainable livelihoods over purely profit-driven natural resource exploitation and energy production models. This transition must be inclusive and equitable, leaving no one behind.
The COP process is essential to achieving international progress on the climate crisis. COP29 and COP30 must succeed in answering the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. As Pope Francis stated: “It is a question of establishing global and effective rules that will make it possible to ‘provide’ for this global protection” (Laudate Deum, n 42).
Pope Francis declared 2025 a Jubilee Year. The biblical concept of a Jubilee includes the cancellation of debts and the liberation of people from slavery. In this Jubilee Year, these three steps would be appropriate collaborative actions to free people from unsustainable burdens and build a world where everyone can flourish.
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Tags: Climate Justice Global Statement, Jesuits for Climate Justice
