“Together with member churches, ecumenical, interfaith, civil society and UN partners, we seek a new way of living sustainably in God’s precious and unique creation – seeking a just and sustainable global community for this and all future generations of life on Earth,” the statement reads. The statement acknowledges that recent climate talks—including COP29 and COP16—have seen a growing recognition of the significant contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to biodiversity and climate protection. “The Biodiversity COP16 also gave concrete expression to the principle that private sector entities that profit from the use of genetic data should contribute a proportion of those profits for the protection of biodiversity, by the establishment of a voluntary fund for this purpose,” reads the statement. “Nevertheless, the collusion of national, fossil fuel, and other business interests has elevated the role of market-oriented solutions in addressing environmental challenges.” This risks increasing debt burdens and deflecting attention away from the critical need for deep-seated economic transformation and the moral responsibility of historical polluters, the statement notes. “Climate and other environmental rules must hold accountable those who are most responsible for the ecological calamity,” the text reads. “Equity is the path to sustainability.” Against this background, the WCC called on governments to take a holistic approach to tackling the interconnected climate, biodiversity, and land desertification crises. In addition, the WCC called on governments to deliver “need-focused, at-scale, grant-based, and timely resourcing for climate, biodiversity and land protection and restoration.” The WCC governing body further called on member churches and ecumenical partners to challenge and dismantle theologies distorted by political, economic, and ideological interests that seek to commodify life, land, and God’s Creation. The statement also calls on churches to concertedly “prepare for the 2025 Climate COP30 in Belém, Brazil, which offers an opportunity to reshape global climate negotiations for the common good, in partnership with Indigenous and other people’s movements and with reference to reflections and resources from the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples Network.” The WCC executive committee is convening in Paralimni, Cyprus, from 21-26 November to focus on planning for 2025, including the budget and implementation of WCC strategies. The thematic focus of the gathering is on peace-building in the context of occupation, war, and conflicts. Read the full statement Prayer and Christian solidarity with people of Haiti focus of WCC statement (WCC news release, 25 November 2024) WCC demands end to violence in Sudan, urges support for churches (WCC news release, 25 November 2024) WCC reiterates vital importance of multilateral cooperation (WCC news release, 25 November 2024) WCC urges peaceful end to division of Cyprus (WCC news release, 25 November 2024) WCC: “We yearn for peace in Ukraine, in Russia and throughout the region” (WCC news release, 25 November 2024) WCC moderator: “What do we mean when we talk about speaking truth to power?” (WCC news release, 21 November 2024) WCC general secretary highlights how WCC proclaims God’s justice in the world (WCC news release, 21 November 2024) WCC executive committee convenes in Cyprus with focus on peace-building (18 November 2024) Photo gallery of the WCC executive committee meeting in Cyprus WCC's presence at "triple COPs" | 
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