Campaigns and Advocacy Officer, Richard Solly, will sit in on the talks, where he will have the opportunity to engage with key decision makers and other faith organisations. The Jesuit-run Centre Arrupe Madagascar, which is dedicated to promoting social justice, sustainable development, and faith-based community engagement, will take part virtually.
JM’s attendance in Germany is the latest step in raising awareness around climate change and environmental degradation, and the devastating impact these have on its partners in the Global South.
The talks will focus on the technical and scientific aspects of climate change, and the recommendations made are influential when it comes to taking practical measures to address the issue.
JM – and other Jesuit works – will provide daily updates from the conference, which will be shared on its website and social media platforms.
Participation in the Bonn talks is part of the wider Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign, leading up to the major climate conference, COP30, which will be held in Belem, Brazil, later this year.
In the lead-up to COP30, JM and Jesuits in Britain are working with other Jesuit organisations across the world, including the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat in Rome, Jesuit European Social Centre in Brussels, and Jesuítas Brasil, calling on global leaders to take quick and decisive action on the environment. You can read more about that here.
JM has consistently engaged with COP, including funding the attendance of the Centre Arrupe Madagascar at last year’s conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Paul Chitnis, Director of Jesuit Missions, said: “The climate talks in Bonn are an opportunity for Jesuit Missions to highlight the devastating effect climate change is having on our partners in the global south. In places like South Sudan, Madagascar and Ethiopia, extreme weather patterns combine with food security, political instability and forced migration to rob millions of people of their livelihoods and, all too often, their lives.
“Inspired by Pope Francis’s urgent call - echoed loudly by Jesuits across the world - to hear, and respond to, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, we have a duty to ensure world governments turn words into action. Our message is clear: It is not too late to prevent catastrophic climate change if politicians, businesses and all of us act now.”
Filipe Martins SJ, Director of the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), said: “JESC is taking part in the Bonn conference because at a moment when climate change keeps being one of the main challenges to humankind, it’s fundamental to be involved in the fora where decisions and expertise to address it are taken. Even if the Bonn negotiations are more technical than political, they are nevertheless an opportunity to accompany the negotiations more closely, meet decision-makers, and join other faith-based and non-faith-based organisations advocating for this global issue to be properly addressed.
“Already Saint Ignatius had very clear that action happens not only in direct support to people in need, but also in engaging in dialogue and advocacy with those who have the power to take meaningful political decisions and change the course of things. This advocacy action is fostered when we act together as a network and in collaboration with many other concerned partners.”
A spokesperson from the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat (SJES) said: “It is crucial for the SJES to be present at SB62. Now, more than ever, we must act as one body, sharing resources, efforts, projects, and goodwill with many others – inside and outside the Church – so that the preservation of our common home can be guaranteed.
“Committing ourselves to collaborate in the protection of creation and the defence of a dignified life for all is an integral part of our mission of ‘Reconciliation and Justice’. We have the capacity and the opportunity; therefore, we are called to exercise that responsibility.”
For more information about Jesuit Missions please visit the website here.
More information about the Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign can be found here.
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
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