United Nations Environment Programme
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Conference
Faith-based Engagement at COP26
31 October - 12 November 2021
Glasgow, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Overview
- A Unified Appeal
- Interfaith Engagement
- Other Events
This year at COP26 the Vatican, British and Italian Embassies to the Holy See had a clear message for delegations at COP26 and the faith networks present: the science is clear, spiritual guidance is motivating action now, multilateralism and interfaith collaboration is the way.
Discover how faith and interfaith actors were present and engaged at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP).
Reflections of the Faith & Science Meeting by Iyad Abumoghli, Founder & Director, UNEP Faith for Earth Initiative
Entering the Vatican Apostolic Palace is in itself ethereal, but being with forty of the highest level eminent religious leaders to launch a COP 26 appeal was heavenly.
After seven months of preparations and 36 hours at the Vatican, religious leaders and scientists signed a unified appeal to the world in relation to the faith community expectations of COP26 and their commitment to action.
The Appeal was but one milestone and the beginning of a long journey to ensure our moraland spiritual responsibility towards our only planet, our life support system.
Faith for Earth has been a major support to this colossal achievement and will continue to provide a unifying platform.
Bilateral meetings with religious leaders and scientists confirmed that the goals of UNEP's engagement strategy with the faith and scientific community is needed more than any other time.
Find out more about the preparatory process.
Faith leaders representing the world’s major religions joined scientists at the Vatican to call on the international community to raise their ambition and step up their climate action ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in November in Glasgow.
Almost 40 faith leaders signed a joint Appeal, which was presented by Pope Francis to COP26 President-Designate, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma, and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Luigi Di Maio
The Appeal emphasized the following:
- encouraging our educational and cultural institutions to strengthen and prioritise integral ecological education;
- participating actively in the public discourse on environmental issues;
- engaging our congregations and institutions with their neighbours to build sustainable, resilient and just communities;
- emphasising the importance of reducing carbon emissions;
- encouraging our communities to embrace sustainable lifestyles;
- striving to align our financial investments with environmentally and socially responsible standards; and
- evaluating the goods we purchase and the services we hire with the same ethical lens.
Read the Appeal.
Watch Faith & Science: Towards COP28:
The COP26 Interfaith Task Force on Climate Change launched a survey to collect planned activities by FBOs ahead of COP26 and for the development of a long-term strategy on climate change, pioneered by the interfaith community.
Programmatic, not activity-based
The survey revealed that at least 80 FBOs were engaged in discreet climate-related activities and only 9 have long-term, planned activities as part of their engagement strategy.
As a result, pre-COP coordination meetings with the Taskforce and the wider community stressed the importance of developing strategic plans. Consultations also aimed to accelerate the potential of faith-led climate action where FBOs requested support in the establishment of a coordination platform to share of good practices, and troubleshoot accreditation and side-event related concerns.
Identifying Common Goals
Community participation, resilience-building, promoting inclusivity, gender empowerment, just energy transitions, and responsible citizenship are values and principles shared among the majority of FBOs, that built a common ground for advanced multi-faith climate action.
The FBOs surveyed also understood their role on climate action as critical and a moral duty, that would entail three overarching functions: facilitating dialogue, advocating for action and protecting the vulnerable, and driving behavioural change at scale.
Jointly developed by the COP26 Interfaith Task Force on Climate Change, consisting of members from the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Faith for Earth Initiative, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and five members (Anglican Church Office at the UN, Bhumi Global, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, World Council of Churches, and the World Evangelical Alliance) of the Multi- faith Advisory Council (MFAC), the survey was conducted during the first quarter of 2021.
Faith and interfaith engagement at COP26 co-led by Faith for Earth
Talanoa Dialogue. See also here.
Muslims in the UK & Ireland Unite in Call for COP26 Climate Action for world leaders to act decisively on the climate crisis through a joint statement on climate and the environment.
