LWF at COP29: strengthening the climate justice call for the most vulnerable people

LWF delegation will host side events in Baku, join interfaith gathering, prayers and ecumenical advocacy

(LWI) - As the United Nations climate summit COP29 opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation began its work of reiterating the communion’s call for concrete progress that benefits those most affected by an escalating climate emergency.

The 2024 UN Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change gathers at a time when climate research and data speak a clear language: 2023 is currently on record as the hottest year globally. The year 2024 is expected to surpass that record in addition to becoming the first year to exceed the Paris Agreement threshold of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The LWF is present at the 11-22 November COP through a delegation of a dozen people onsite in Baku and another 26 online. They will join hands with ecumenical as well as interfaith partners in bringing the voice of faith communities to the table.

The opening day saw an online ecumenical prayer dedicated to COP29, and on 12 November, delegates will join an informal interfaith gathering in the spirit of Talanoa dialogue onsite in Baku. The LWF will host and contribute to a range of side events, participate in ecumenical advocacy actions, prayers as well as interfaith activities on the COP agenda.

Bupe Kibiki of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is one of the delegates joining the COP as a delegate online. “I am excited to receive a badge from the LWF to participate virtually at this global climate action,” she says, noting how it underscores “the LWF’s confidence in youth, knowing that we can bring change toward intergenerational climate justice.”

Climate finance must support those most affected’

A key focus for negotiations at this year’s conference, climate financing ensures that funds are readily available for measures both to counteract climate change and to adapt to its consequences.

“One of the main points this year is to have a clear commitment on finances,” explains Elena Cedillo Vargas, LWF Program Executive for Climate Justice. “We need to learn from the previous period, during which countries have simply not met their targets and goals. Moving forward, climate finances should and must be accessible to the local communities that are most affected by extreme weather around the globe. As climate impact evolves very quickly, we also need to evolve very quickly to help people manage the changes they are facing,” Cedillo notes.

“As people of faith we see the whole being, including aspects like mental health, land and forest degradation, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity around us and how it affects the world we live in – all of which tend to be neglected in technical discussions on climate finance. So as LWF we help bring all this to the table. From a faith perspective it is crucial. Climate finance needs to be shaped in a way that supports the needs of the people on the ground,” Cedillo underlines.

A unique role in climate action and leadership development

The LWF plays a unique role in young people’s action and leadership development in advocacy for climate justice, explains LWF Program Executive for Youth Savanna Sullivan, noting that LWF delegations to the annual COPs have consisted of young people from member churches around the globe for a number of years.

“Our grounding in theology and in the gospel specifically gives young people a chance to explore their spiritual connection to this work more deeply,” Sullivan reflects. Their advocacy addresses not only issues at the local level in their communities, but it also speaks to the underlying spiritual beliefs and convictions, “allowing the change they inspire and lead to be more powerful, transformative, and lasting,” she adds.

For Romario Dohmann, Evangelical Church of the River Plate, for whom COP29 is the fourth climate summit onsite, experience at the COPs helps drive engagement at the local level too.

Participation in the climate conferences is essential for linking local insights with global perspectives and creating a unified approach to climate action, he says.