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Urgency to act now for climate justice

Participating in the COP26 in Glasgow resembled a reunion of sorts. After the pandemic cancelled meetings of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change and led to the rescheduling COP26, it was wonderful to catch up with my ecumenical friends who are devoted to the work of climate justice.

Stop Hoping. Start Resisting.

If you try hard and believe in the power of positive thinking, you may be able to take comfort that COP26 provided some hope. But if you remove the rose-colored spectacles, it becomes clear that we should abandon the sentiment of hope and commit to lives of faithful resistance.

Returning to where everything started

As people of faith concerned about the climate crisis, there are two origin stories that may guide and concern us as we ponder how we ought to live in the world today. One is the Genesis story, which establishes our faith in the God of Creation, and our particular role in nature. Another, is the story that started years ago on the same soil and the same river where COP26 is taking place today.

At COP26, “it is like no one emotionally can comprehend what is happening”

Passing through closed streets, groups of cops and demonstrations to get to the Blue Zone is a strange situation for someone with roots in the Christian activist environment. I walk with the badge around my neck but I try to cover it with my jacket until I get to the first security check before entering the Blue Zone, the place where the negotiations happen. Thousands of people gather in the Blue Zone, the observers, the delegations, the press, the staff. It is like a small society here, a society under the UN flag that exists only for a couple of weeks. 

Climate change: a stage for world political leaders—and a question of our hearts

COP26 in Glasgow started this week, offering a stage for world political leaders. For most of them, it was an opportunity to share their vision of the world they are leading. For some others, despite being among the most powerful, COP26 is also an opportunity to express their position on the major challenge of humanity in the 21st century by their absence. What did we hear in the first two days of this COP?

COP26: historic moment into what really matters to sustain life

The highly anticipated, long awaited COP26 began 31 October. It has now been six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement at COP21 and much remains to be implemented in order to fulfil the promises agreed to at that historic moment by the member states. We knew then that the road ahead would be challenging and that changing our systems would require a radical shift in policies and behaviours—but we were hopeful. 

In times of global crisis, time to formulate the narrative of the way out

In just a couple of weeks an invisible virus got the world economy on its knees and made 2020 the year of postponement. Not only concerts and conferences, sports and theaters have been suspended or postponed. Even pivotal UN meetings have been postponed and among them the UNFCCC COP 26 in Glasgow. A meeting that should have at its best ramped up the ambitions to cut the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases. Incredible amounts of money have been thrown in by different governments of the world to keep the economy from a total collapse. And no one seems to be against it.

Displacement in a time of climate change

Cyclone Tino - the second cyclone to visit Fiji in less than 3 weeks - disrupted our plans to visit several climate-impacted communities in the island of Vanua Levu as part of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace in the Pacific. Heavy rains rendered impassable the roads leading to the Naviavia community.

A Christmas reflection on climate change

Amongst those who “came into being” are the familiar faces of the Christmas story. They faithfully lived the life they were given. There is significance in this for us, in our being here now. The life they were given was very different from the life they had probably planned.