Preparing for a just climate agreement in Paris

Photo by Cecile Meijer, rscj

Many at the UN call 2015 a once-in-a-generation opportunity for transformational change. Why? Because this year three pivotal summits are taking place which, together, can set the world on a track for true change and transformation:

  • the third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July;
  • the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly in September;
  • the Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.

The NGO Office offers four resources for your consideration, education, prayer and reflection in preparation for the third event, the Climate Change Conference in Paris. The goal of this conference, which is officially known as the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is to achieve a universal and legally binding agreement to address climate change.  

  1. The home page of the UN and Climate Change website – an elaborate site with background and up-to-date information about the UN’s involvement with climate change.
  2. The Statement by some Catholic Bishops from all continents, released in December 2014 in Lima, Peru, at the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCC. In this statement, the bishops issued a powerful call for a just and legally binding climate agreement in Paris in 2015. You can find the Statement by the Catholic Bishops at the bottom of this webpage of CIDSE.
  3. The text of the Annual Lenten Lecture 2015, delivered by Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, at Trocaire in Ireland on March 5, 2015.
  4. Pause for Peace 2015 (forthcoming) – an initiative from different congregations with NGO status at the UN, giving examples of what I/we can do to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Pause for Peace 2015 also invites us to pray, between now and the middle of December, for the success of the Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.

Cecile Meijer, rscj
April 2015