WCC’s new climate justice tools bring hope for children

"Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable” has been a long time in the making, acknowledged Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. 

Prove offered a history of the WCC’s work in climate justice, particularly with an approach of “following the money” to reveal which corporate entities or individuals are acting with disregard toward children’s futures. 

Examining intentions 

WCC senior programme lead for Children and Climate Frederique Seidel offered an introduction and overview of handbook, which includes a menu of simple and basic ways to get started on the climate litigation path. 

She also offered the reason why: people of conscience need to act—especially those who may not realize their own money is funding harmful environmental practices by corporate entities. 

“Nobody really has the intention to harm children through their banking or investment choices. Many people don’t really see the connection, and when you explain it to them, they are willing to go out of their way to do the right thing for the protection of children’s futures. So we created a template that you can send to your banks and pension funds,” explained Seidel. 

Case studies shared 

Yvan Maillard from Swiss Church Aid/HEKS-EPER, the relief organization of the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church, shared an update on a case related to Holcim, a large cement-making corporation. 

“There are four plaintiffs,” explained Maillard as he told the story of people gravely affected by climate change. “They live on a small island.”

Working in the fishing or tourism sectors, the residents of Pari Island in Indonesia see increasingly severe flooding—which means tourists are canceling their trips, the fish population is dwindling, and saltwater is contaminating wells. 

“There is now a growing anxiety for the future of the people on the island and also their children’s future,” said Maillard. 

Holcim, which has emitted billions of tons of CO2, of course is not the only company responsible for the climate crisis—but it’s certainly one of the largest ones, noted Maillard. 

“This is why the plaintiffs decided to choose this company,” explained Maillard. “This is a civil lawsuit asking for damages, and they also ask the company to reduce its emissions.”

“But justice in Switzerland is not very quick,” added Maillard. “The plaintiffs hope a decision will happen before the end of this year.”

Proactive approach

Lawyers and climate specialists Sebastian Voegeli and Marina Rubeli shared how to take a proactive approach toward litigation. “The vast majority of our work involves advice on how to seize environmental legislation here in Switzerland,” explained Voegeli. 

He offered examples of very successful legal engagement, including one related to FIFA and calling into question its claim of having “emissions free” events. Voegeli explained how FIFA was “greenwashing” or deliberately making false claims about its climate responsibility. 

“The media coverage was significant and this also motivated the organizers of other sporting events to contact us beforehand to know our position on their communication on environmental matters,” said Voegeli. 

Rubeli, who suggested that plaintiffs choose a specific financial project to take action, explained a variety of approaches Swiss bank account holders can use. Cantonal banks can be held accountable to abide to international human rights frameworks, including the right to a healthy environment and the right to life. The Swiss Fairness Commission and the Unfair Competition Act are two other avenues enabling Swiss bank account holders to hold financial institutions accountable for misleading communication about investments that pretend to be *good for the planet.” 

Ruebli also explained how people in Switzerland can use the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) complaint as a mediation mechanism. 

With this mechanism, ultimately a commitment made by a bank may be limited, she acknowledged. "It leads to compromise and it’s non-binding and non-enforceable.”

Still, as Seidel pointed out: “The OECD is non-binding. But imagine if all the churches started doing OECD complaints! Such engagement does influence decision making.”

A Filipino priest, Rev. Edwin Gariguez, gave an update on his work with European banks to demand they curtail ties with companies behind new fossil fuel projects currently destroying the Verde Islands Passage, the most biodiverse marine habitat in the world, comparable to an Amazon of the oceans. 

He spoke specifically of San Miguel Global Power, for which UBS is the second largest European investor.

“Most of the communities in the Verde Islands Passage are suffering a lot from the fossil fuel projects because the fish are beginning to decrease and dirty energy companies bring devastation,” he said. 

As the dialogue came to a close, Prove brought attention back the moral reason behind all this work: hope for children. 

“We have to pull every lever on an emergency basis in order to have this hope,” he said.

WCC member churches and partners are warmly encouraged to join the online training on the tools for climate litigation, on 15 April at 2 pm CET. Register for the online training on 15 April here.

Churches and partners who would like to join this project are invited to send a note to [email protected]. 

Publication "Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable"

Overview with highlights from the new resource (4-page flyer)

Online Training on the legal tools for climate justice “Hope for Children”

Photo gallery from the Launch event of the resource

Learn more about Churches’ Commitments to Children and Climate-Responsible Banking