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The message that climate changes threatens human rights and must therefore be considered an ethical issue will be brought to the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently under way in Poznań, Poland by a delegation representing the World Council of Churches (WCC).
The representatives of churches and Christian agencies from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas on the 17-strong World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation will remind the delegates from 187 governments that efforts to mitigate the effects of human activities on the climate and to adapt to the changes must give priority and support to the poorest and those most affected.
After the 1-12 December conference in Poznań, the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will meet only one more time on government level before the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement aimed at preventing climate change and global warming, expires in 2012. Real progress towards a new ambitious and effective international deal is therefore critical.
On Sunday, 7 December, conference participants and locals will be invited to an ecumenical celebration at the Augsburg-Evangelical Parish of Poznań, which will also mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A side event on moral and ethical issues will be co-organized by the WCC and the Penn State University, United States on Monday, 8 December. Members of the WCC delegation lead by Elias Abramides, a Greek Orthodox layman (Ecumenical Patriarchate) from Argentina, will present on religious principles that should guide the implementation of the Bali Road Map, to which the parties to the UNFCCC had agreed at their last meeting in December 2007.
On Friday, 12 December, the WCC will present a statement to the plenary of high-level government representatives calling for good use of the remaining small "window of opportunity" to limit the extent and prevent the most detrimental impacts of climate change on nature, societies, economies and development opportunities. The statement, which will include the results of the 27-30 November Interfaith Climate Summit in Uppsala, Sweden, will also underscore the role of faith communities promoting hope and trust in the "feasibility of climate proof, sustainable societies and lifestyles that will enhance life with dignity."
WCC campaign on climate change
Website of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań
