WCC News: WCC will bring message to pre-COP28 Faith Leaders Summit

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will participate in a pre-COP28 Faith Leaders Summit in the United Arab Emirates on 6-7 November.  WCC representatives along with those from the Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance, and other faith-based groups participated in the Climate march in the streets of New York on 21 September 2019. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 06 November 2023 Meeting under the theme “Confluence of Conscience: Uniting Faith Leaders for Planetary Resurgence,” the summit will be hosted by the COP28 Presidency in collaboration with the Muslim Council of Elders and the United Nations Environment Programme. The gathering will take place ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28, in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. In a reflection for the summit, Pillay spoke of sharing the gift of life on our common home of Earth. “We may come from different faith traditions, yet what unites us is that we all share the gift of life on Earth, our only home,” he said. “All our faiths teach us that we, human beings, have a sacred responsibility to nurture and protect the gift of life.” Pillay also noted that the climate emergency disproportionately affects children and young people. “Today, this gift of life is imperilled by our society’s deep-seated addiction to fossil fuels and obsession with maximising financial gain and economic growth,” he said. “The latest scientific findings warn us that we are sliding from climate crisis to catastrophe.” Pillay said that it is the moral imperative of faith leaders to urgently call our leaders and communities to a profound and rapid change of heart.  “As governments convene for COP28 taking place at the end of 2023 – a year that is set to be the hottest year on record, it is nothing less than our moral duty to call on our leaders to act immediately for the phase-out of fossil fuels,” said Pillay. “This means halting new extraction of fossil fuels and ending fossil fuel subsidies.” Address of the WCC general secretary at the Faith Leaders’ Summit on COP28 WCC's work on Care for creation and climate justice See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland