Church representatives in Cancun to call for moral decisions

From WCC media <[email protected]>
Date Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:23:41 +0100

World Council of Churches - News

CHURCH REPRESENTATIVES IN CANCUN TO CALL FOR MORAL DECISIONS

For immediate release: 24 November 2010

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation seeks to promote 
spiritual
values at the climate talks in Cancun, Mexico. After the Copenhagen
summit's failure to deliver a fair, ambitious and binding treaty in 
2009,
this year's conference is anticipated by many with cautious hope.




In a joint effort with other Christian organizations that will be 
present
at the Conference of Parties (COP) 16 to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Cancun, the 14-strong WCC
delegation will highlight the Christian message that humanity is 
called to
care for creation and for the most vulnerable people.


The WCC delegation includes representatives of churches and 
church-related
organizations from Europe, Russia, the United States, Latin America 
and
Asia. Mohammad Abdus Sabur of the Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) 
will
bring an Islamic perspective to the delegation.


Tackling climate change has become a focal point of interfaith 
cooperation
in recent years and was identified as a common concern at a high-level
Christian-Muslim conference in November.


Besides lobbying during the COP 16 negotiations the following 
activities
are being organized:


On Saturday, 4 December, the ecumenical coalition will invite 
conference
participants and local people to an interfaith celebration.


On Thursday, 7 December, (11:30 a.m. – 13 p.m., Room Monarca,
Cancunmesse) the WCC; ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis will
organize a side event on faith-based climate advocacy, including a 
case
study on Nicaragua and interfaith theological approaches from 
Christian
and Muslim perspectives. The event is co-sponsored by AMAN, Church of
Sweden and the Andean Ecumenical Higher Institute of Theology (ISEAT).
Speakers include: Abdus Sabur, AMAN, Thailand; Abraham Colque, ISEAT,
Bolivia; Carlos Cardenas, CEPADE, Nicaragua.


On Friday, 10 December, the WCC is scheduled to present a statement 
to the
plenary of high-level government representatives. The message will 
remind
at the end of the third millennium's first decade, there must be no 
more
delay of action on climate change. It will also express the hope that
spiritual values will help overcome an economic model based on
over-consumption and greed.


"We hope that this conference will achieve agreement on a package 
including
technology transfer, mitigation and adaptation measures as well as
instruments for reporting emissions, that would enable us to limit the
global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius," said Dr Guillermo 
Kerber,
WCC programme executive on climate change, ahead of the event.


In 2009 (Link: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=df5e7b92e28877becb5d ),
the WCC and a coalition of other church-related organizations ensured 
a
strong Christian testimony at the UN conference, including an 
ecumenical
celebration attended by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, members of the
Danish government, conference participants and a plethora of religious
leaders, that took place in the Copenhagen cathedral as thousands of
congregations around the world were ringing their bells for climate
justice.


This year, groups and individuals worldwide are called to express 
their
commitment by adding their face and message to a photo petition for 
strong
international action on climate change. Photos can be shared via 
Flickr
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=56cb5cb37c6f6c1c48a8 ) or 
Facebook
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=51cd9d73a512364f3f12 ), or by
sending an email to [email protected] (Link:
[email protected] ).


For more information on the WCC and climate change visit
www.oikoumene.org/climatechange (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f07318e77eef0dc1703c )

Media contact in Cancun: Guillermo Kerber, +41-79-238.90.86


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 349 
Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 
million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the 
Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse 
Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, 
Switzerland.



You receive this information as a subscriber of our media list. You 
are 
registered as Worldwide Faith News with the address 
[email protected].
Click here to unsubscribe or change your distribution settings 
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6d1a4c1d8cca3d00992f ).