Tag: Climate Change

9 July 2025 Mass Lobby of Parliament for the Climate

We need your voice!

On Wednesday 9 July 2025, thousands of people will be joining a mass lobby co-organised by The Climate Coalition

Register with the Climate Coalition

A mass lobby is an event where lots of people meet with their MPs on the same day to have powerful conversations about issues we care about.

Supporters of more than 100 organisations from across the UK will come to Westminster that day to ask our MPs to take action on climate, debt and nature.

In this Jubilee year, it’s vital that MPs also hear from people of faith. So please come along and promote this mass lobby in your local community and parish.  

Colette Joyce, the Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, will be based at the Faith for the Climate stall throughout the day in the QEII Centre, Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE. Call or message her on 07593 434905 if you would like to meet up on the day or assist for an hour or two on the stall yourself.

Catholics in Westminster are also invited to join the Lobby via CAFOD who will also have a strong presence on the day. There are travel subsidies available for those who would benefit from receiving assistance to get to the event. Follow the CAFOD link for details.

If you have joined in with previous mass lobbies, you will know how powerful these moments are and about the uniquely inspirational atmosphere generated on the day.

For those who haven’t attended a mass lobby before, this day will be a unique opportunity to join the Church’s global debt campaign and make our call for the cancellation of the debts of countries hit hardest by the climate crisis, loud and clear.  Even if you don’t get to meet your MP you can still be part of a big public act of solidarity and witness that will make a difference.

On the day, the Mass Lobby will end with Mass at Westminster Cathedral at 5.30pm! The Celebrant is Bishop John Arnold, Bishops Conference of England and Wales spokesman on the Environment.

COP29 was Highjacked by Rich Countries says Christian Aid

Source: Christian Aid

In response to COP29’s final statement, Christian Aid has said: “People of the global south came to these talks needing a lifeboat out of the climate crisis. But all they got was a plank of wood to cling to.

“This summit has been hijacked by rich countries who have failed to negotiate in good faith. The cost of their actions here will be paid in the lives of vulnerable people on the front lines of climate breakdown.

“Developing countries are already responding day in and day out to the climate emergency, dealing with homes, crops and livelihoods destroyed due to droughts, storms and floods. They came here seeking solidarity and partnership to tackle a problem they didn’t create, but have left with scraps.

“Finance is the cornerstone of climate action. It is essential to help developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change. This level of funding simply won’t cut it.

“Rich countries knew they had all year to prepare for this meeting, where they were required by the Paris Agreement to agree a new finance goal that met the needs of the developing world. They have failed to do that with this paltry finance offer.”

LINK

Christian Aid: www.christianaid.org.uk/

COP29 – Faith Groups march in London

Faith representatives outside British Museum before the start of the march. Photo: ICN

Source: Jo Siedlecka, ICN

Faith groups were among thousands of climate justice campaigners who marched peacefully through central London on Saturday 16 November 2024, accompanied by colourful banners, chanting and drumming. They lobbied the UK government and world leaders to work towards climate justice, and to do it urgently. They included representatives of Christian Climate Action, Green Christian, Laudato Si Movement, Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology Team, Columban Sisters, Faithful Companion of Jesus Sisters, Quakers in Britain and Faith for the Climate Network.

The march was part of an annual Global Day of Action for Climate Justice which always takes place midway through the annual international United Nations Climate Conference, which this year is in Baku, Azerbaijan 11- 22 November. Other marches lobbied COP29 in 25 places across Britain, including Brighton, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, and Glasgow.

The London march – organised by more than 60 groups – started at the British Museum, which has a £50 million partnership with the oil company BP. Speakers argued that the fossil fuel industry has no place in the arts. And the route was via the HQ of Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR, co-owner of the BTC pipeline with BP, which supplies nearly 30% of Israel’s oil.

At its end in Downing Street, a rally called for the UK government to end its reliance on fossil fuels and to commit to paying climate reparations…

Continue reading on Independent Catholic News

New Finance Agreement needed at COP29 say Catholic and Anglican Bishops

Source: CAFOD

Fossil fuel companies should be taxed more to provide funds for countries on the frontline of the climate crisis, Anglican and Catholic bishops have told ministers.

In a letter to the government, the Rt Rev Graham Usher for the Church of England and Rt Rev John Arnold for the Catholic Church in England and Wales called for higher taxes on major polluters. The pair are lead bishops for environmental affairs in their respective churches.

The letter comes ahead of the start of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan next week. Proposals to tax large polluters are expected to be included in negotiations at the summit on how to fill gaps in funding for developing countries hardest hit by the climate emergency – known as ‘international climate finance’.

Poorest communities ‘paying impossible price’ for climate crisis

Bishops Usher and Arnold argue in the letter that the funding gap means climate-vulnerable countries are “being forced to pay an impossible price for measures to protect their communities and rebuild from climate disasters”.

“The fact that those who have contributed least to causing the climate crisis, face an unaffordable bill for its impacts is an injustice we cannot tolerate as a country.

“We urge you to ensure your government plays the strongest possible role in remedying this injustice.”

Tax those ‘profiting from environmental damage’

Taxing polluting activities undertaken by the wealthiest companies and individuals would raise funds from those who are “profiting from environmental damage” and “help to incentivise the transition to renewables”, the bishops state.

The bishops also warn ministers that leaders at COP29 must agree to provide more climate finance as grants, arguing that loans will only “add to low-income countries’ existing and crippling debts”.

Providing further sources of finance by cancelling debts for countries facing a debt crisis would prevent such countries facing a “choice between paying huge interest bills to overseas lenders and paying to protect their communities from the climate crisis”, the bishops argue.

COP29 began in Baku, Azerbaijan on 11 November, and is due to finish on 22 November.

For background and information, see: CAFOD’s latest report on Climate Finance solutions (May 2024)

CAFOD Campaign News: Why is COP29 Important?

CAFOD Action: Email the Climate Secretary

Faith leaders urge David Lammy to show leadership on climate

Faith leaders hold vigil outside Foreign Office, calling on government to show leadership on climate justice

Source: Quakers in Britain

At a vigil outside the Foreign Office on Tuesday, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and Buddhist representatives handed in a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Catholic signatories included Bishop John Arnold (Salford), spokesman on the environment for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and Colette Joyce, the Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator.

The letter asks the foreign secretary to take the initiative at upcoming COP29 by contributing new funding to the International Loss and Damage Fund.

It’s time for the UK – and its wealthiest polluters – to pay our fair share- faith leaders

It must do this in the form of grants not loans and by taxing pollution and wealth, rather than repurposing official development assistance, the letter, co-ordinated by Quakers in Britain and the Faith for the Climate network, says.

The 21 signatories call on the UK government to champion a new “collective quantified goal” for climate finance for developing countries, including sufficient funding to respond to loss and damage.

“Our call to Make Polluters Pay is partly about our history,” the letter says. “When we factor in Britain’s colonial past, the UK is the fourth largest contributor to climate change.”

It is also about our present, faith leaders including Paul Parker, recording clerk of Quakers in Britain, write.

Two fossil fuel giants, Shell and BP, are based here, enjoying record-breaking profits.

“Meanwhile, many British households are struggling to heat their homes. At the same time, communities all around the world are being devastated by extreme weather events, such as flooding, super storms and forest fires.

“These inequalities need to be redressed, to acknowledge the intrinsic value of every living being on our precious and finite earth.”

The faith leaders conclude, “It’s time for the UK – and its wealthiest polluters – to pay our fair share.”

Read the full letter here

Global Call to Action for COP28, 9 December 2023, 11.50am at St James Square

This Saturday, 9 December 2023, sees the Global Call to Action. Westminster Justice and Peace are joining CAFOD and many other civic groups to march and call for leaders at COP28 to commit to urgent action on the climate crisis.

We’re going to meet at 11:50am at St James’s Square, SW1Y 4LE. This is next to the office of BP, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.

A large march calling for a ceasefire in the war in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory is now going to be taking place in London on the same day as we gather to call for leaders at COP28 to act on the climate crisis.

As a result, the route for the COP28 march is going to be shorter than originally planned:

  • Once we meet at St James’s Square at 11:50am, we’ll hold a moment to gather with people from different faith and belief groups to pray or reflect on the need for leaders to act at COP28.
  • There will then be a rally taking place outside BP to call for governments to stop supporting fossil fuels.
  • Following the rally, there will be a short march that will end just before 2:00pm at Trafalgar Square, with many people taking part in the climate march going on to join the Palestine march.

Along with Christian Aid and Tearfund, CAFOD have written a set of prayers that we will say when we meet outside BP. And, of course, if you’re unable to join us in person to call for leaders to act at COP28, you can say these prayers with us from wherever you are in the world.

We will be there with the Westminster Justice and Peace banner from 11.45am.

You can also join in at Farm Street Church for the Jesuit Missions prayer event from 10am

You are welcome to let us know if you would like to join us or just show up on the day.

And spread the word!

Email: justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk Colette Joyce Mobile: 07953 434905

Register your interest with CAFOD

CAFOD Prayers for COP28

Lent Cookbook Now Available

Lenten Cookbook

Thank you to all who contributed a recipe (or two!) to our new vegetarian cookbook, which is now available to order in time for Lent. Eating meat puts a huge strain on the Earth’s resources, and also contributes a large number of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Therefore, we suggest going veggie for Lent. The 40 recipes in this book are a good place to start.

Also available are our ‘Paris Diaries’, a photo journal of our exciting cycle ride to Paris for the UN conference on climate change. It features a written account of the ride as well as an in depth reflection written by our chair Fr Joe Ryan.

Get the books for £3 each or £5 for both. Download an order form here.

Go Veggie For Lent

Fattoush salad

Now that the dust has settled after our 150 mile cycle pilgrimage to Paris for the climate talks, it is important that the pace is not lessened in the fight for climate justice. World leaders must be held accountable to the promises made in Paris, and we should take action in our own lives to reduce our carbon footprints.

The rearing of livestock is a huge environmental burden, not only because of the huge amounts of land required to house animals or to grow the grain to feed them, but also because of the emissions generated by their slaughter, packaging and transport.

Lent is usually a time when we think about giving something up, such as alcohol or chocolate, so why not meat? At Justice and Peace, we thought about ways we could continue to pray and fast for the climate, and came up with the idea of producing a Lenten vegetarian cookbook featuring 40 tasty veggie recipes.

However, we need your help!

If you have a vegetarian recipe you would like to share with us then download the form here, fill it out including the ingredients, method, backstory, any credit if necessary, and a photo (of the dish or yourself or both), and send it back to us at justice@rcdow.org.uk no later than Monday 17 January.

Happy eating!

The Paris Diaries – Cycling Pilgrimage

Danny Bonnett, a wind turbine engineer from Bristol and a cycling pilgrim, shares his experiences of the road to Paris.

London Victoria

The group get ready to take the train to Newhaven

Day 1 – Newhaven to Dieppe

Mileage: almost nil.

Events: a few episodes of queasiness, great hospitality in Dieppe, and a great tour of historic churches – if only we had known how cold it was going to be!  Our hosts were so welcoming it was lovely. Continue reading →

Green Party MEP gives support to Paris cycle ride

Jean Lambert MEP

Barbara Kentish and Fr Joe Ryan with Jean Lambert, MEP

Barbara Kentish and Fr Joe Ryan met with Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP, on Friday 13th November at her London offices to discuss our pilgrimage to Paris as well as our hopes for the climate change talks.

She was very helpful and supportive, giving guidance and providing us with excellent background knowledge of the conference: Continue reading →