Climate and the fundamental call for justice

Following political turmoil in Chile, the world gathered at COP25 in Madrid in December 2019 to negotiate a way to respond to the climate crisis.

Over a fortnight later, the longest UN climate negotiations on record were a fact, and key issues still remain unresolved.

Yet one of the things that’s been impossible to miss in face of this emergency, is the fundamental call for justice, and the people it is who are making that call.

7 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: Tupá Mirim Joyan, a Guaraní man from Sao Paulo brings testimony of his indigenous roots and culture, as people of faith gather in a ‘Prayer for the Rainforest’ as part of the Cumbre Social por el Clima, on the fringes of COP25 in Madrid, where faith-based organizations continue to urge decision-makers to take action for climate justice.

And for justice, there is no time like now.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: ‘Climate justice can’t wait, Act now!’ reads a sign from ACT Alliance, as faith-based participants from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the ACT Alliance join in as thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice.

The climate march through Madrid gathered many thousands on the streets. From faith-based organisations.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: Faith-based participants from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the ACT Alliance join in as thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice. Here, Lutheran World Federation delegate Fernanda Zuñiga from the Lutheran Church in Chile (centre).

A range of climate activists, from all walks of life.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: Thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice.

But what is more, the march was an opportunity to come together. As one LWF participant at COP put it, perhaps in the end, climate change is an issue that will actually bring us closer together, for climate justice and social justice.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: Faith-based participants from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the ACT Alliance join in as thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice. Here, Athena Peralta (centre), Elena Cedillo (left) and Dinesh Suna (right).

And sometimes messages don’t have to be complicated. A simple piece of truth, can strike a note in an observer’s heart.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: ‘The rich pollute a lot’ reads a sign, as thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice.

We hear how climate justice is about intergenerational justice. About younger generations having a say, as the world responds to what is a global crisis cutting across generations.

1 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: A father and son fold their hands as if in prayer, as representatives of various faiths gather in the Iglesia de Jesús (Church of Christ) of the Iglesia Evangélica Española (Evangelical Church of Spain) for an interfaith dialogue and prayer service on the eve of the United Nations climate conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain.

And then there are those who simply stand for hope. Some, from the perspective of a country deemed politically too hot to host the negotiations in the first place.

1 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: “Cambio Climático y Esperanza” (Climate Change and Hope’) reads the text, as Lutheran World Federation delegate Sebastian Ignacio Muñoz Oyarzo from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile holds a sheet of paper on which key discussion points have been summarized, as representatives of various faiths gather in the Iglesia de Jesús (Church of Christ) of the Iglesia Evangélica Española (Evangelical Church of Spain) for an interfaith dialogue and prayer service on the eve of the United Nations climate conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain.

At the beginning and the end of it, it seems, is that basic call to be heard.

9 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: A young man cries out for climate justice, as Fridays for Future create a ‘human chain’, demanding urgent action from politicians at COP25 in Madrid.

6 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: Faith-based actors led by ACT Alliance, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Council of Churches ‘sound the alarm for climate justice’ at COP25, through a protest where a giant alarm clock went off, followed by testimonies of people already affected by climate change, and the chant, ‘What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now! Where do we want it? Everywhere!’

10 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: An indigenous woman blows incense, as a group of indigenous people demonstrate at COP25 in Madrid.

And then of course there are those whose leadership inspires, by making sure others get to speak up.

9 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: “My story is already well known, so we are lending our voices today to others, whose stories need to be heard,” said Greta Thunberg, introducing other young climate activists to share testimonies from around the world.

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