Climate Witness Project Witnessing in Bonn, Germany
As the world’s nations convene for the next two weeks at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, to negotiate implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, Christian evangelicals from the United States will be there to deliver this message to the world: “We are still in.”
Included in the group are representatives of the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s Climate Witness Project (CWP), Citizens for Public Justice, Climate Caretakers, and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.
While in Bonn, members of the group will be teaming up to provide a collective public witness that Christians take seriously their call to protect God’s earth and to defend our neighbors.
They will also be telling their stories, sharing prayer requests, urging action in daily newsletter updates, participating in on-site meetings, and calling on decision makers to hold high moral standards for the health of the planet and its people.
“Our faith calls us to a vigilant response to the threat of climate change. But our response will not be effective if governments don’t also work together, make shared commitments, and coordinate their work,” said Kris Van Engen, CWP team coordinator.
“We pray and hope that COP 23 will result in better access to sustainable energy for all communities, reduce global emissions, and increase preparedness for stronger storms and changing weather patterns around the world.”
The Climate Witness Project, a ministry of World Renew and the CRC’s Office of Social Justice, partners with churches to demonstrate care of creation through prayer, advocacy, education, and energy stewardship.
Officially titled the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP 23), the two-week conference in Bonn is being hosted by the United Nations and is being presided over by the Pacific island nation of Fiji.
The purpose of the meeting is to negotiate and outline how to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015. The main goals are to reduce greenhouse gases over the next several years and help poorer countries adapt and respond to climate change.
Steven Lutz, World Renew program consultant for Kenya, is representing the CRCNA in Bonn. He said the first days of the conference have been hectic.
“When you are together in an enclosed space with thousands of people from literally all over the world coming together from all walks of life to stand in solidarity for one joint global cause that is affecting the entire world, it is easy to be overcome with awe,” he said.
“You realize that you as an individual are one of many with the same passion, and that everyone here and around the world is one small but crucial piece of the puzzle and has their own unique contribution to make to the bigger picture of defending vulnerable people and preserving God’s good world. It’s a very humbling experience!”
Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, formerly the CWP team coordinator and now national organizer and spokesperson for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, said the conference marks two firsts:
“It is the first under the presidency of a Pacific Island nation (Fiji), and the first since the U.S. turned its back on the Paris Agreement,” he said.
“History will remember where the church stood in this moment: in vocal solidarity with those made most vulnerable by climate change, or in silent agreement with those who turn their backs on them.”
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action is a group of young Christians in the United States who are coming together and taking action to overcome the climate crisis as part of their Christian witness and discipleship.
COP 23 will be setting the stage for the Talanoa Dialogue happening at COP 24 in 2018.
Talanoa is a traditional Fijian word that describes a process of inclusive, participatory, and transparent dialogue.
As Fiji is presiding over COP 23, it has offered this concept to replace the rather bureaucratic sounding “Facilitative Dialogue.”
At the dialogue next year, countries will report on their progress toward their commitments made in Paris and will urge each other on toward ever more ambitious action.
“Climate change – with its devastating impacts on both people and the planet – is an issue that reaches to the core of who we are as people of faith and how we are to live in God’s world,” said Karri Munn-Venn, senior policy analyst for Citizens for Public Justice.
“We are in Bonn for COP23 to bear witness to the international negotiations, to give voice to the Christian call for climate justice, and to continue to engage public officials on the imperative to go further and faster to align public policy with the Paris Agreement.”
Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is a national organization of members inspired by faith to act for justice in Canadian public policy.
“COP 23 marks the first climate conference since the United States abandoned the Paris Agreement. This makes it all the more crucial that American citizens, faith groups, NGOs, and other leaders demonstrate our support for global climate action,” said Brian Webb, director of Climate Caretakers, which advocates for Christians to pray for and act on stemming climate change.
“Even if the U.S. government is out, we are still in and will do everything we can to support the Paris Agreement,” he said.
The group of evangelical leaders in Bonn will be hosting a live video chat Thurs., Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. EST to share some of their insights and stories and to answer any questions you might have.
There’s no need to register; just click on the sign-in link to join the video chat on Thursday.
To keep you all informed on the COP23 proceedings, the group is sending out daily updates. These can serve as prayer resources throughout the conference as well as supplying updates on progress and barriers and including action steps for CWP partners in North America to take in addressing climate change. To receive updates, sign up here.
