wfn.org | LWI 2009-056 African Lutheran Church Leaders Want Just Agreements at Copenhagen Climate Change Talks

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African Lutheran Church Leaders Want Just Agreements at Copenhagen Climate  Change Talks
Calls to Build Up Action amid Increased Vulnerability

NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 15 October 2009 (LWI) - A Lutheran World Federation  (LWF) consultation on climate change, food security and poverty ended in  the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, with a call on the LWF member churches to  challenge their governments to demand fair, equitable and legally binding  agreements at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen,  Denmark, in December.

Representatives of LWF member churches in Africa, diaconal institutions of  churches in the region and mission partners also urged the LWF and  ecumenical delegations attending the Copenhagen conference to demand  adequate compensation for rehabilitating the environment in Africa.

"Climate change is a justice issue because those who have played an  insignificant role in causing it are suffering the most," delegates  stressed in the final statement of the 5 - 10 October, consultation  organized by the Africa area desk at the LWF Department for Mission and  Development.

"We ... listened to testimonies from people directly affected by climate  change. As ascertained from them, rains do not fall or are very erratic,  rivers and lands are drying up; resulting in poor harvests," the participan ts said in the statement that addressed a range of issues related to the  continent's vulnerability to the impact of climate change.

LWF member churches were urged to engage their governments to address food  insecurity and poverty, as well as add their voices in demanding justice  for those made vulnerable or marginalized by climate change.

"I see this [consultation] as a starting point in trying to make the  people aware of the problem, ramifications and consequences. I think  something more needs to be done after this," said Rev. Dr Modeste Rakoto,  president of the Malagasy Lutheran Church and current chairperson of the  Lutheran Communion in Central and Eastern Africa (LUCCEA). "We have  general principles and general deadlines ... but the next step should be  steps toward good actions to make the people cope," he said in an  interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI).

However, the biggest challenge, according to the LUCCEA leader was  changing mind-sets so that people can address the situation.

Presiding Bishop Naison Shava of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in  Zimbabwe (ELCZ) said churches in Africa needed to build up confidence in  actively addressing the challenges of climate change.

"The tendency in the church has been to be very highly empowered in  production of documents and taking positions on paper, but we have been  weak in terms of actions," said Shava. "We have had this trend for quite  sometime. That's why I am saying; we need to look into ourselves introspect ively and move toward action," he added.

"We must hate evil, love good: establish justice in the gate," remarked  Namibian Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta, LWF vice president for the African  region earlier while presenting the key note address titled, "Theological  and Ethical Questions and Public Role of the Church." He challenged  Lutheran churches to "move away from ambulance approaches to addressing  structural issues head on. Let us be bold, prophetic examples of doing  justice, not charity."

Africa is least equipped to cope with the impact of climate change,  participants noted in the consultation's final statement. The region's  vulnerability is further heightened as its food production mainly depends  on rainfall-fed agriculture. Indeed, the UN Intergovernmental Panel of  Climate Change warns that in 20 years, Africa could lose up to 60 percent  of its agricultural productivity. (574 words)

(By Nairobi [Kenya]-based LWI correspondent Fredrick Nzwili)

The final statement from the regional consultation on climate change is  available on the LWF Web site at: www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-2 009_Nairobi_Regional_Consultation-EN.pdf

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran  tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140  member churches in 79 countries all over the world, with a total membership  of 68.5 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas  of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology,  humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various  aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in  Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless  specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or  opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an  article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced  with acknowledgment.]

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