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Societies must move away from "promoting endless growth and production of goods" as well as a "seemingly insatiable" consumption, says a statement presented today by the World Council of Churches to the plenary of high-level government representatives at the UN climate summit in Bali, Indonesia. While "the poorer carry the burden of the irresponsible waste of resources, energy and extreme consumerism of the richer," the statement affirms, actions should be focused on resolving "the problems of the great majority of today's world population."

While negotiations at a key UN climate summit in Bali, Indonesia, seem trapped in a "vicious circle", ecumenical representatives struggle alongside civil society organizations to bring about a paradigm change.

The Kyoto Protocol is "an important step forward towards a just and sustainable global climate policy regime" and as such needs to be fully implemented, however "much more radical reductions [of greenhouse gas emissions] are urgently needed," the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee stated at its 25-28 September meeting in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

Churches throughout the world are preparing for next year's Week of prayer for Christian unity which will mark the 100th anniversary of the event. Worship resources in four languages have already been put at their disposal on the website of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

Focusing on how to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to real change in the lives of communities through new forms of development, a 12-15 April WCC/Christian Aid consultation in London worked to determine elements of a common platform for churches' involvement in the UNFCCC COP 13 climate change negotiations in Brazil next November-December.

What are the implications of climate change for development in a world where years of development efforts are destroyed in a few seconds or hours by a hurricane or a single flood? This will be the subject of a 12-15 April 2007 consultation in London hosted by Christian Aid and sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change.

The German Protestant aid agency Brot für die Welt has handed a steering wheel, symbol of its water campaign, over to the WCC, thus symbolically handing responsibility for this concern and a newly formed Ecumenical Water Network.

The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Grameen Bank's creator Muhammad Yunus not only recognizes his "creative genius in promoting his concept of microcredit, but also testifies to the fact that genuine economic and social development has to grow from below if it is to be accessible for the people," the World Council of Churches (WCC) said today in a congratulatory message.