COP30 in Brazil: Catholic Leaders from the Global South Present Climate Justice Appeal at UN Pavilion

Representatives of the Catholic Church of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean presented, at the UN Pavilion, the document “A call for Climate Justice and the Common Home: Ecological Conversion, Transformation and Resistance to false solutions”. This presentation took place during the COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Belém, Brazil from 10 to 21 November 2025.

The text, delivered to the United Nations (UN), rejects “green capitalism”, demands that rich nations pay off their ecological debt and calls for concrete actions to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo has reaffirmed that the climate crisis needs a comprehensive solution, and that indigenous and traditional peoples must be included in decisions on forest protection. He called for ethics in the COP30 negotiations and review of the ecological debt between the global North and South.

Cardinal Jaime Spengler, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), stressed that “the Earth is not a mere resource to be exploited, but a living organism that needs to be listened to.” He warned of the risk of a climate collapse and advocated networks of solidarity and ethical development, based on trust and common responsibility.

President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of India advocated for fair funding for poorer countries hit by the crisis. “COP30 needs to generate a turning point, not just an event,” he stated.

In the end, the cardinals delivered the document to the UN representative Gustavo Mañez, along with the base text of the 2025 Fraternity Campaign – “Fraternity and Integral Ecology”, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to climate justice and the common home.

This joint appeal is addressed to government leaders and their representatives, urging them “to work for an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement for the benefit of people and the planet”.

The appeal also calls on the Church and the general public to live out the “ecological conversion” (Pope Francis) and to address “wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest” (Pope Leo XIV).

The Catholic Church present in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, inspired both by the legacy of Pope Francis and his Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum, and by Pope Leo XIV’s call to live an integral ecology with justice, peace and prophetic courage, offers this document as an expression of its unwavering commitment to human dignity, peace, the preferential option for the impoverished, climate and social-ecological.

SECAM Communication’s Office

Download this Appeal Below

ENGLISH: ENG_The-Churches-Global-South-on-ocassion-of-COP30

FRANÇAIS: FRA_Les Eglises des pays du Sud a loccasion de la COP30

PORTUGUÊS: PT_As-Igrejas-do-Sul-Global-por-ocasiao-da-COP30

ESPAÑOL: ESP_Las-Iglesia-del-Sur-Global-con-motivo-de-la-COP30