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Greeks have watched their country burn, knowing that the flames also consume many other parts of the world, says the Church of Greece.

As reports of casualties and loss grow in Haiti in the wake of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on 14 August, a tropical depression was threatening the same area two days later.

As wildfires continue to rage in Greece, the USA, Albania, and Russia, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reached out in solidarity to churches and communities that continue to be evacuated as well as those who have lost everything. 

As people in many regions suffer from the effects of record-breaking heat, devastating wildfires and extreme flooding, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus lifted up those suffering in prayer while, at the same time, urgently reacting to the latest scientific evidence that the global temperature is rising.

During an ecumenical service in Aachen Cathedral, on 28 August, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Germany as well as the churches affiliated to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen (Working Group of Christian Churches) will jointly remember and honor the victims of the floods that severely hit the region.

Global faith-based organizations, including the World Council of Churches, are jointly planning an intense period of prayer and action related to climate justice. Online prayers on 12 August and 26 August are open to the public with the goal of praying for the climate continuously until the COP26 climate talks are held in November in Glasgow, Scotland.

With less than three months until the United Nations climate change conference begins in Glasgow, Eco-Congregation Scotland is renewing calls for churches to commit to action before talks begin.

In a letter of solidarity to churches and all people throughout Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences and concern for those who lost loved ones during the severe flooding that struck the region in mid-July.

The ecumenical Eglise verte (Green church) movement in France held its first assembly of local groups and churches on World Environment Day, 5 June.

During a “Season of Creation Intergenerational Dialogue” webinar on 3 June, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca gave closing remarks, reflecting on how the earth can be a home for us all.

African faith leaders are being urged to push for commitments on tangible climate change action, as governments head to the next climate negotiations at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 26) in the city of Glasgow in the United Kingdom from 1-12 November.

On the road to the next UN Climate Conference (the 26^th Conference of Parties, or COP 26), churches and groups from a range of Christian traditions organised a webinar titled, “Raise Your Voice in Faith for Climate Justice,” on 13 May as part of the Global Action and Prayer for Climate Justice. 

Bishop Philip Huggins, president of the National Council of Churches in Australia, described the United Nations COP26 climate talks as possibly the “last chance to save our planet” in a letter to Australian prime minister Scott Morrison.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep alarm at the recent decision of the Japanese government to approve the release of tritium-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.