WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF THE FAITH COMMUNITIES AT COP20

In Lima, on December 1-12, 2014, it will hold the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), at where the faith communities of the world will join together to present a united front for climate justice.  The recent IX World Assembly of Religions for Peace called on religious leaders and people of faith to address issues of responsibility and accountability for the causes of climate change.  In fulfilling of this mandate, the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Office of Religions for Peace and the Inter-Religious Council of Peru will be a meeting point for the religious communities and faith-based organizations around the world for networking at COP20.  After the failure of the COP19, the religious communities have the ethical obligation to ask the negotiators to look beyond their own countries’ interests and, even though it may cost them in economic terms, to come up with a solution for the whole world.

Religions for Peace understands that “Climate change is an all-encompassing threat to human development and habitat on earth.  The increase in global temperatures, according to most scientists, is a direct result of our fossil fuel driven economy and the excessive emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.  The effects of climate change are already felt around the world, and are projected to increase.  If action is not taken now, the world will witness a dramatic decline in global health, security, the environment and human development.  As some of the most numerous and well-organized members of civil society, religious communities have a key leadership role to play.  Stewardship of the earth is a principle found in all of the world’s major religions.  From a basic belief in nature as divine creation, to scriptural commands to care for the earth, the collective sacred texts of all faiths speak of caring for the earth in diverse ways.” (Religions for Peace.  Action and Advocacy for Climate Change: A Resource Guide for Religious Communities.  New York, 2011).