Over the two-day meeting, the commission's five working groups shared progress on addressing critical issues like climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation, emphasizing the need to uplift Indigenous and youth voices.
The commission also discussed its role in the upcoming United Nations climate conferences, specifically the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP29, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP16, and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification COP16. These conferences, known as the triple COPs, provide a critical opportunity to address the intertwined challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and desertification.
Athena Peralta, CCJSD director, stressed the importance of holding major polluting nations accountable. “Advocacy in these spaces will focus on urging the key contributors to the triple ecological crises to pay up for planetary restoration and to cut their carbon emissions radically,” she said.
Bishop Julio Murray of the Anglican Church in Panama, and CCJSD moderator, highlighted the discussions' significance, noting that they enriched the commission's proposal for an ecumenical decade for climate justice action. “It is a proposal that the whole commission can own,” said Murray, pointing to the consensus-building process as a key strength.
Rev. Dr Hyunju Bae, CCJSD vice moderator, reflected on the spiritual foundation of the commission's work, drawing on the idea of ecumenical geometry. “In our uphill struggle, the CCJSD can continuously be nurtured and sustained by the hope coming from that center, which doesn’t disappoint us (Romans 5:5), and continue to work together for the transformation of the world,” Bae said.
As the commission prepares for its next in-person meeting in February 2025, Fr VM Matthew of the Mar Thoma Church in India called for the group to examine the impacts of ongoing conflicts on planetary health, suggesting this be a focal point of future discussions.
The CCJSD reaffirmed its commitment to the call from the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe to pursue justice and sustainability through its statement, “The Living Planet – Seeking a Just and Sustainable Global Community.” Faith communities worldwide are encouraged to stand together in the fight for climate justice, offering moral leadership in a time of environmental crisis.
Three WCC commissions meet to confront emerging global challenges (News Release, 05 March 2024)