WCC News: WCC equips young leaders at All Africa Youth Congress with legal tools for climate justice

“Hope for Children Through Climate Justice,” a training organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 3 November, introduced participants of the All Africa Conference of Churches Youth Congress to resources and legal tools that hold climate crisis financiers accountable. Christians from various traditions in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, together with representatives of Don't Gas Africa, stage a 'climate crime scene' at the United Nations climate summit COP28, to highlight the impact of climate change on local communities around the globe and how the climate crisis must be addressed. Photo: Albin Hillert/LWF 05 November 2025 The training was opened by Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace, who encouraged young participants to strive for justice: “Litigation is not about hostility — it is about justice. It calls financial actors and governments to redirect their investments toward life-giving, sustainable alternatives that protect creation and secure a livable planet for our children.” “As long as adults’ bank accounts are investing in fossil fuel expansion — fueling the very root causes of global warming — child protection measures must include responsible banking choices,” said Frederique Seidel, WCC senior programme lead for Climate and Children. “We have moved into the sphere of legal action because it is now possible to plea for the right to life of children by using the law. The fast-moving legal landscape includes powerful new measures, as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child GC 26 on climate and children and the International Court of Justice’s new Advisory Opinion on global accountability with regards to the climate emergency, opening new paths for intergenerational climate justice.” The training provided an introduction to the new WCC resource “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice,” which includes legal tools adapted to various contexts and capacities. The session included examples and testimonials on powerful yet under-utilised levers to accelerate climate solutions.  “It is the government’s duty to make sure that citizens’ rights are protected and not violated in the name of development,” said Hillary Tendai, legal officer from the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, sharing climate litigation examples from Zimbabwe. “We have to hold our governments to account for inaction — for failing to implement climate policies or protect citizens from climate impacts.” “When you take a case on climate litigation, it’s not benefiting an individual — it’s benefiting a community, a country, or a generation. Public interest litigation allows young people to hold governments and corporations to account for their contributions to climate change,” said Tendai. Sibusiso Mazomba from the youth-led Africa Climate Alliance shared about the "Cancel Coal" legal case in South Africa, which prevented the government from building new coal-fired power plants.  “We launched the Cancel Coal court case to hold our government accountable for its duty to protect the right to a clean and safe environment. This was not just about coal — it was about climate justice and protecting the most vulnerable,” said Mazomba. “Children are not consulted in decisions that will shape the world they inherit. That is why intergenerational equity is central to climate justice — leaders must make decisions whose consequences they themselves will not bear.” Grounded in Biblical reflections by WCC consultants Kevin Maina, leader of Young Theologians Initiative for Climate Action (YTICA) and Rev. Jackie Makena who co-organised the training, the WCC handbook on legal tools for climate justice aims to empower churches to protect the lives of children and future generations.  The Youth Congress is convening under the theme “Africa, My Home, My Future.”  All Africa Youth Congress Learn more about the Climate-responsible Banking Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable 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