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“Our hope as Christians rests in our belief that that our world is not destined to disappear but to be transformed, and that human beings capable of self-destruction are also able to unite and to choose that which is good”, reads a statement of the Council of Christian Churches of France (CECEF) focusing on the upcoming meeting of the United Nations on climate change (COP 21) in Paris later this year.
The document was released on September 29, in Paris, during a press conference with the co-presidents of CECEF, Pastor François Clavairoly, Metropolitan Emmanuel and Archbishop Georges Pontier, who stressed that the declaration is addressed “to Christian brothers and sisters, to all people of good will and to the leaders gathered at the COP21”.
For Dr Guillermo Kerber, programme executive for Care for Creation and Climate Justice at the World Council of Churches (WCC), hosting COP21 has led French churches to work intensively on climate change issues this year.
“The CECEF’s statement builds on actions and reflections being done by Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox in France throughout 2015 and expresses a strong call for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to be adopted at COP21 in Paris in December”, said Kerber.
The French churches’ declaration acknowledges that climate change is caused by human beings and shows concern with the most vulnerable groups who live in areas where changes in climate are creating ever stronger impacts: “We are particularly concerned for the weakest and poorest among us”.
CECEF’s call on climate change echoes a wide range of churches’ and ecumenical organization’s mobilizations towards what is expected to be a decisive conference on the search for an agreement that may lead to strong actions on the climate at national and international levels. It is hope such action will be adequate to stop climate change.
WCC activities on climate justice
Read the full text of the statement (pdf)
