“As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to act swiftly with faith and prophecy to protect the gift he entrusted to us”
(Pope Leo XIV’s video message to particular Churches of the Global South. See the full video HERE)
On Saturday 15th November, AMRI marched alongside many other organisations, groups and individuals in Dublin city centre to raise awareness about the urgency of world leaders to take collective action in responding to the cries of our ailing planet. This year’s COP30 (Conference of the Parties) held in Belém Brazil, is critical in its focus to consolidate and safeguard commitments made over the last 3 decades. COP30, held between the 6th to the 21st November, is the first meeting to take place since the world officially passed the 1.5°C threshold of global heating above pre-industrial levels – the limit long reported as critical in to prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change.
As more and more countries around the world experience the direct effects of the rapid climactic changes to our natural environment – such as rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events like severe flooding and drought, leading to increased food insecurity – COP30 represents an important opportunity for the world to take much stronger and more unified action. As contemporary global political, social and economic events increasingly distract us from our responsibility to care for our common home – as faith-based communities, we must continue to listen to the cry of our earth and ensure that its cries are heard by all 197 COP members and the rest of the world.
“Everyone in society, through non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups, must put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls”
(Pope Leo XIV as the Raising Hope Conference in Italy Oct 2025).
The Catholic bishops from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean issued a joint appeal in July ahead of COP30 seeking an end to fossil fuels and urging transformative action grounded in dignity, solidarity and justice: “Abandoning fossil fuels is not only necessary to reduce emissions, but also to repair an ecological and moral debt to the Global South.”
Faith groups lead in the campaign to divest from fossil fuels
Religious institutions manage a combined US$3 trillion of investments globally (LSM). The campaign to divest from fossil fuels has been led by faith groups, with some 600 faith institutions globally making some form of fossil fuel divestment or commitment to divest, alongside calling on governments, banks and other financial service providers to phase out their support for fossil fuels and to scale up investment in clean energy. If your congregation, order or society has not yet divested from fossil fuels, or indeed any organisation linked to human or environmental rights abuses, consider doing so and join the growing movement to save and protect our common home and all residing in it.
