An indigenous woman blows a horn as tens of thousands gather in downtown Belém for a People's March for Climate Justice in connection with COP30 in Brazil. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Exploring inclusive and equitable climate action
Released in connection with a 20-November COP30 high-level segment on just transition – a key topic at the negotiations this year – a new study by the LWF and Franciscans international zeroes in on the question of how a just transition can drive inclusive climate action and ensure that no one is left behind.
Budi Tjahjono of Franciscans International spoke on the new piece of research entitled “Just Transition and Human Rights: View of Faith-Based Communities.”
Listening to faith-communities around the world, a key finding is that the question of a just transition is bigger than simply a transition. Rather, this research shows a need for transformation, Tjahjono said.
For faith-based organizations, the study shows, a just transition must be rooted in core ethical principles—justice, equity, human dignity, and the protection of rights – and is not simply a technical change in energy or economic systems, but a holistic process that promotes social justice, inclusivity, non-discrimination, and ecological balance.
LWF Program Executive for Climate Justice Elena Cedillo said a that just transition especially in the energy sector is an opportunity, to democratise access to energy, for example. Instead of simply shifting from one source of energy to another while keeping the current system in place, , we need to support the empowerment of local communities by developing direct access and ownership – rather than remain dependent on large-scale, often multinational corporations. A just transition must put communities at the centre.”
“For any just transition to be effective, we need strong commitments, but also to popularize the language used, so that it becomes understandable and actionable for local communities. As faith communities I believe we can play an important role to help build this bridge,” Cedillo continued.
And the issues on the table are bigger than simply renewable energy.
“It is about human rights, it is about human dignity, indigenous people and also about land rights. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the majority of minerals and other resources currently sought in order to enable an industrial so-called ‘green transition’ in fact sit in the lands of indigenous peoples around the globe,” Cedillo added.
“Around 54% of energy transition projects and mining companies that are providing the critical minerals are on the land of indigenous people. This is precisely why the presence and voices of indigenous people here at the COP are so essential,” she reflected.
A 'COP of truth', set in Amazônia
At this year’s negotiations, officially slated to conclude Friday, one of the key outcomes at stake is a concrete roadmap to phase down fossil fuels, the key driver of rising global temperatures and the ensuing destabilization of weather patterns around the globe.
COP30 has also been dubbed as a 'COP of truth', and described by host country Brazil as a COP that will ensure concrete action and real solutions to the escalating climate crisis. Yet as negotiations approach their final stages, key points remain contentious.
This is the COP of the truth, and the people deserve the truth, that actually we have to have a just transition, with justice for local communities.
Maro Micah Maua, KELC
The COP this year is geographically set in Amazônia, bringing into the spotlight in particular the role of forests, the importance of curbing deforestation, and the lived realities and witness of indigenous communities – many of whom are precisely those most exposed to climate injustice.
Indigenous peoples stand up to demand climate justice, at COP30 in Brazil. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Alongside tens of thousands of civil society representatives, indigenous people march through Belém. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Indigenous people rally at the conclusion of a People's March for Climate Justice organized in connection with the United Nations climate summit in Brazil. Photo: LWF/A. Hillert
Adriana Lisbeth Alvarado Rodríguez, a young woman from the Salvadoran Lutheran Church who joins COP30 in its second week as part of an ecumenical WCC delegation, said “COP30 is important because it takes place in Amazônia, a key region for the protection of our planet. And because this year governments should look to implement the agreements that they have made for the climate.”
“Our hope is that countries will commit to support financially those most vulnerable, to take concrete steps towards a just transition away from fossil fuels, and to strengthen the protection of the Amazon as well as of indigenous communities,” she said.
Maro Micah Maua of the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, former LWF COP delegate online and in person, is present this year in Belém through support from his own government.
He spoke to the powerful testimony he had seen from indigenous peoples at this particular COP, standing up to defend themselves in face of exploitation and injustice.
“This is the COP of the truth, and the people deserve the truth, that actually we have to have a just transition, with justice for local communities. It is about ensuring that agreements and plans laid out at these global summits ultimately are owned by the local communities,” he said.
“I think the best way forward is to acknowledge that people must speak truth to power, and the youth have to be central to advance the changes we need to see. We also have to ensure that the indigenous communities, indigenous knowledge is brought aboard. And last but not least, I want to refer us back to the community, that as part of the LWF advocacy is not just about global input, it is about the local action as well,” Maua concluded.
The LWF delegation to COP30 comprises church leaders—men, women and youth—from all continents, highlighting how advocacy has inspired local solutions to the climate emergency and policies that protect the most vulnerable. They join efforts with the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and other faith partners in online and face-to-face meetings.
