UN Climate Change Talks
Bali, Indonesia
People's belonging were washed away and left in the road after floods in Koshkalat, Pakistan. A continued rise in weather related disasters is expected due to global warming.
Photo: Saleem/CWS (P/A)-ACT International.
The WCC will have an accredited ecumenical delegation of about 25 people from around the world participating in the UN's next major climate change conference being held in Bali, Indonesia, in December. This critical intergovernmental negotiating session will focus on a future climate policy framework for the time after 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.
At the 13th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP13/CMP3), as the meeting is officially called, the WCC delegation will monitor the negotiations and engage government delegates in dialogue about the issues. Besides the ecumenical delegation will participate in events with other civil society organizations and sponsor a side event in conjunction with UK-based Christian Aid. The focus of this workshop is on "greenhouse development rights" as a foundation for future climate policy that meets both development and environmental objectives.
During UN climate conferences, the WCC has made it a tradition to organize an ecumenical celebration for COP13-CMP3 participants and local faith communities. This year the celebration will be held at the Protestant church in Nusa Dua on Tuesday, 11 December, and will be co-sponsored by the WCC and Gereja Kristen Protestan Bali (Protestant Christian Church in Bali).
The ecumenical worship, featuring traditional Bali dances as well as a tree planting ceremony, will be followed by a panel discussion under the co-sponsorship of the WCC and Christian Aid (UK). The event will also include a video message from the archbishop of Canterbury.
The WCC will also have the opportunity to address the plenary of the high-level segment of COP13/CMP3. The text of the WCC statement will be available shortly after the conference on the WCC web-site.
More information concerning the WCC campaign on climate change