WCC NEWS: "Less Can Be More:” Bishop Bedford-Strohm on metanoia and hope at COP30

Five months after the launch of the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action in Johannesburg, the World Council of Churches (WCC) brought its commitment to COP30 in Belém, Brazil. On his final day at the climate summit in the heart of the Amazon, Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, WCC central committee moderator, spoke with WCC Communications about metanoia, climate justice, and reasons for hope. Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, WCC central committee moderator Photo: Valter Hugo Muniz/WCC 13 November 2025 Can you share what brought you personally to the climate justice movement? Was there a particular moment that transformed this from a theological concern into a deep personal calling? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Well, it started early in my youth, I must say. I have always felt a very strong connection to nature—to nonhuman nature. This beauty of nature is something very important to me, to my heart. And then, of course, as my faith grew, I discovered more and more that what we see here—the beauty of nature—is the work of God. My spirituality, my faith, my prayer is intimately connected to this experience in my relationship to nonhuman nature. So when I sit there and look at a lake or at the mountains, when I see the sunshine, or sometimes also when I feel the fresh rain, it's a spiritual experience for me. That is why protecting the environment—caring for creation, as it is requested from us in what we read in the first book of Moses—is something very crucial for my own faith. What role do you see for churches not just as moral voices, but as active allies in pushing governments toward structural changes?   Bishop Bedford-Strohm: This has played a big role in the conciliar process for justice, peace, and integrity of creation that we had in the 1980s, and that ended in a big global assembly for justice, peace, and integrity of creation in Seoul in 1990. We have come to a point where we both see, North and South, that you cannot look at one issue without also looking at the other issue. Those who have contributed least to global warming are the first victims. And in many cases, those are countries in the South. So the justice question and the ecological question are intimately connected. We think that it's a question of reparatory justice. It cannot be that those who see their country being devastated by a natural catastrophe that is human-made—that is caused by human-made climate change—that they have to pay for the damage. The Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action speaks powerfully about metanoia. What does metanoia mean to you personally in the context of climate justice? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: This word, metanoia, is really a very important word to express what we as faithful people feel when we look at climate catastrophe. And what is really important to me is that metanoia is not a negative expression. It's not renouncing things we love. No, it's the open door to a good life. The word metanoia means that we say, "Stop. Think about how we live," and maybe discover that less can be more. Less material wealth, less CO₂ emissions, less garbage. It can actually open the door to a life where we live in peace with nature—and maybe also in peace with other human beings. What do you hope the next ten years of the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action will accomplish? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Why is the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action so important? I think we must sometimes just think about and realize how powerful we are as churches—as World Council of Churches. Our 356 churches represent 600 million people. If all those churches that represent 600 million members really started to advocate these things in their national societies, talk to politicians about their ecological responsibility, mobilize people in their own societies to stand up for climate justice action—we can really make a difference because this is a global problem. Young people at COP30 are full of passion but also carrying the weight of eco-anxiety and climate grief. What would you say to them? Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Young people have inspired us so much in all our negotiations, all our meetings in the ecumenical movement. And I always experience that they're not only our future—they are our present. It moves me when I hear how young people are worried. And with good reason—they are realistic in expecting big, big problems in the future if we do not change now, if we do not engage in metanoia now. We need to really hear what they say. And let's see what we have to do to overcome their despair—not by pacifying them, but by acting. There is empirical reason for hope. But then I must say there's also—fortunately—more than just empirical reason for hope. There's faith reason for hope. God is not away. God is in the midst of all this. God's promise is not the dark hole in which we walk. God's promise is the rainbow after the flood. God's promise is the new earth and the new heaven toward which we are walking. That is the deepest reason why we do not have to despair. Talanoa Dialogue photo gallery  Follow WCC's COP30 coverage at www.oikoumene.org/cop30 Click here to join the WhatsApp channel Interfaith gathering opens Zoom doors worldwide for COP30 ethical dialogue in Belém (News Release, 6 November) Churches called to lead climate action as world leaders gather for COP30 (Feature Story, 6 November) Daily COP30 updates connect churches to climate negotiations (News Release, 5 November) WCC calls COP30 a "kairos moment" for climate transformation (News Release, 4 November) 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