WCC NEWS: Faith communities urge COP30: "No climate action without debt cancellation"

Toni Anne Hendricks, a youth researcher and climate advocate from the Moravian Church in Jamaica and member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation, presented an interfaith call to action at the High-Level Ministerial Segment of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on 18 November, urging ambitious action on emissions, finance, and just transition. Toni Anne Hendricks, Photo: Valter Hugo Muniz/WCC  20 November 2025 Speaking on behalf of faith-based organizations, Hendricks told world leaders that faith communities "hold no self-interest in global climate action" and that their "advocacy is for all life on Earth." She noted that "only 10% of the world's population has been responsible for roughly two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions since 1990." Those most responsible must lead in reducing emissions and providing financial resources for a just transition, she said. Hendricks connected the debt and climate crises. "Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on servicing debt than on responding to the climate emergency," she said. She warned that "the debt crisis intensifies the climate crisis, and the climate crisis worsens the debt crisis." A decade after the Paris Agreement, faith communities "stand firmly for our planet, for the most vulnerable, and for future generations of every species." They are united by "the moral teachings of our traditions, which together call us to work for climate justice." Religious leaders asked COP30 to "build trust and secure that all climate actions are founded on equity and human rights, including gender equity and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights." They urged countries to submit ambitious nationally determined contributions in line with climate science. They also called for climate finance to reach 1.3 trillion US dollars yearly. Faith groups pressed for adoption of a Just Transition Work Programme. They also called for the phase-out of fossil fuels through the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.   Watch this COP30 session and Toni Anne Hendricks (at 50:22) here Follow WCC's COP30 coverage at www.oikoumene.org/cop30   COP30 Photo Galleries Click here to join the WhatsApp channel with daily live update from Belém, Brazil "Tapiri closing service brings climate justice decade to COP30" (Interview, 18 November 2025) "To care for the Earth is to love the Creator": Indigenous leader at COP30 (Interview, 14 November 2025) "Less Can Be More:” Bishop Bedford-Strohm on metanoia and hope at COP30 (Interview, 13 November 2025)   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 356 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 Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland