Jesuits at COP30

Never before have we been so aware of the degradation of life on the planet and the need to act together to save it. The threats are exacerbated by the political regimes that prevail in so many parts of the world, focused on the logic of capital accumulation and commercial interests, denying or ignoring our critical situation. The consequences have so far affected the most vulnerable populations, especially in the global South, but are now also being felt in the countries of the North.

The fourth Universal Apostolic Preference reminds us to “to collaborate in the care for our Common Home” as an integral part of our charism and mission. The results of the survey made in 2024 on the 4th UAP – which we hope to share soon – show that the response of the Society of Jesus in its various institutions and communities has been generous and creative. Based on this vocation (life-mission) and encouraged by the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES) in Rome, we want to collaborate among us, with other entities of the Church and many civil society organizations with whom we share common goals, to be present at COP 30.

Our efforts are focused on three fundamental challenges/calls:

1. Cancel the debt of underdeveloped countries and strengthen the Loss and Damage Compensation Fund.

2. Accelerate agreements and set targets for a just energy transition to reduce CO² emissions.

3. Set concrete targets to promote a Global Sustainable Food Sovereignty System based on agroecology.

COP 30 officially brings together government representatives from UN member states that are ‘parties’ to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The so-called ‘blue zone’ will be attended by negotiators and representatives, diplomats, UN officials, journalists, scientists, trade union and NGO leaders, business people, activists, indigenous leaders, church representatives, etc. In the ‘Green Zone’, public activities take place outside the area where negotiators and lobbyists meet, through conferences, academic discussions, debates, marches, celebrations, etc.; it is the public area for which no special accreditation is required. However, it is an essential form of participation because it exerts a role of social pressure and, to a certain extent, influences what happens in the blue zone.

We Jesuits have two groups that work in a progressive and synchronized way: On the one hand, there is the Commission in Brazil, appointed by the Father Provincial to promote and organize the participation in the Province (especially in the Green Zone), coordinated by the Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of Rio de Janeiro; on the other hand, there is a committee formed by the SJES within the framework of the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network on Integral Ecology (GIAN-IE), in charge of encouraging and organizing our participation, preparing/deepening the three objectives mentioned above, developing a process of information and awareness-raising ad intra and ad extra of the Society, participating in Bonn (pre-COP in June 2025) and in Belém in the month of November.

With this communication, we launch this process and invite all Jesuits and, more generally, all members of the apostolic body (laity and other religious groups) to participate. In the coming weeks, we will launch the communication channel (website and media kit/social networks) to disseminate information and monitor our activities in the pre-COP30, COP30 and post-COP30 periods.

We invite all Jesuit institutions accredited to the UN or COP (social centres and universities) and all members of apostolic bodies preparing to participate in COP 30 to join forces and contact us. Together we can increase the impact of our initiatives and presence.

Roberto Jaramillo SJ
SJES Secretary/Rome
sjesdir@sjcuria.org