Paris climate summit: 'An opportunity for a unified humanity'

Caritas and CIDSE say that the UN climate summit in Paris (COP21) needs to respond to the urgency of dangerous climate change but also serve as a milestone for creating a unified vision for the future of humanity leaving no-one behind.Bernd Nilles, secretary general of CIDSE, said: “We are deeply committed to working with and for people affected by climate change. To protect the most poor and vulnerable the global economy needs to decarbonise by 2050.”

Countries represented at COP21 are called to reach a new climate change agreement to reduce carbon emissions, end further global warming and to allow people and countries to adapt to climate change. The summit starts on 30 November, just over two weeks after 130 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital.

“Our hearts are with the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families as we prepare for COP21,” said Michel Roy, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis. “Such an act of injustice spurs us on in our work towards a greater global justice on many issues which lead to inequality and suffering, including climate change.”

Representing more than 180 Catholic organizations worldwide, Caritas and CIDSE call for a legally binding and equitable agreement on climate change to be reached at the COP21 summit. They are convinced that if climate change is dealt with in a way that protects human rights for all this would be key to eradicating poverty, hunger and inequality.

Both organizations believe that any decision at COP21 needs to be based on strong ethical grounds;  that people and politics can pave the way towards low carbon societies and that  the new agreement needs to guarantee the funds for this transition and to help the world’s poorest people adapt to climate change and deal with its consequences.

They say that fossil fuels should not receive any more subsidies and should be phased out as soon as possible and at the latest by 2050. Sustainable energy should be accessible to all as part of any long-term plan to limit global warming below 1.5 degree Celsius.

This implies that development models and lifestyles need to change, such topics are central in the campaign Change for the Planet – Care for the People.  In June 2015 Pope Francis made a powerful call to “every person living on this planet” (LS #3) to take care of “our common home” in his encyclical letter Laudato Si’. The encyclical urges everyone to start looking at the environmental and human aspects of development in a new vision of integral ecology.

Caritas and CIDSE, along with Friends of the Earth and Misereor, are holding a side event at COP21 on 7^th December entitled “Deal with it!” which will discuss the impact of Climate Change in Oceania and the Amazon Region. Speakers include a European leader; Julianne Hickey, director of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and Ivo Poletto, advisor to Caritas Brazil, Coordinator of the Forum sobre Cambio Climático, representing the Church Pan-Amazonian Network (REPAM).

Despite the cancellation of November 29 and December 12 mobilisations days in Paris, Caritas and CIDSE organisations in many parts of the world have organised participation in global climate marches as well as via social media and virtual activities (such as the action 4 Steps for Planet) to urge leaders to reach a binding climate decision.

CIDSE is an international alliance of Catholic development agencies working together for global justice. Our 17 member organisations from Europe and North America come together under the umbrella of CIDSE to fight poverty and inequality. We challenge governments, business, churches, and international bodies to adopt policies and behavior that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development.

Click here to see the CIDSE publication written ahead of COP21: Paris, for the People and the Planet

Click here to see the CIDSE programme of activities in Paris.

Click here to see CIDSE's series of videos about climate justice.