The United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) is taking place from 6-17 November in Bonn, Germany and will be presided over by the Government of Fiji. More information on COP23 can be found here.
It is an intergovernmental meeting to focus on global dialogue and action. Thousands of negotiators from the public, private and nonprofit sectors gathered to discuss how the world should address climate change. In recent years, many faith groups have been deeply involved in advocacy and action on climate change and have taken part in every conference of Parties.
This year, the Episcopal Church sent out an 11-member delegation to the COP23. A joint delegation from the United Methodist Church and Society and Global Ministries is participating the conference’s first week. Also, there are representatives of the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s Climate Witness Project (CWP) and Citizens for Public Justice, Climate Caretakers, and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.
The purpose of the meeting is to negotiate and outline how to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015. The main goals are to reduce greenhouse gases over the next several years and help poorer countries adapt and respond to climate change. After President Trump’s Paris Agreement withdrawal, 213 churches and congregations across the U.S. signed the We Are Still In declaration on October 24, 2017 to help the U.S. achieve its promised greenhouse gas emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement. We are together for faithful climate action!