November 17, 2010

People around the globe are called to put their names and faces behind the call for strong international action on climate change. An international coalition of Christian organizations is organizing a photo petition that will bring the messages of all those who care for creation to the United Nations climate talks.

The call comes ahead of the next round of negotiations by the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which will take place in Cancun, Mexico, 29 November to 10 December.

The United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen 2009 failed to deliver the legally binding treaty that many, including the World Council of Churches (WCC), had hoped and advocated for.

"The more time political leaders lose before they agree on fair, ambitious and binding measures, the harder it gets to mitigate the effects of climate change, and the more people will lose their lives and livelihoods, especially the poorest and most vulnerable," says Dr Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive on climate change.

Last year's good news was that in 2009, from a strong, but small seed of climate campaigning, a movement touching millions of people in hundreds of countries around the world has grown. There was a strong witness in Copenhagen by a coalition of Christian organizations including the WCC, and around the world thousands of congregations rang their bells for climate justice.

In order to keep up the momentum and put a face on the global call for climate justice individuals and groups are now invited to contribute images of themselves and their message to global leaders to the campaign. Anyone can share a picture of themselves via Flickr (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=b2359c66b354e85d187b ) or by sending their picture (including their name and country) to photopetition@gmail.com (Link: photopetition@gmail.com).

The photos of the petition can be viewed at the ecumenical campaign's website climatejusticeonline.org (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=ba9b4efd5235a3ae47d9) and will be displayed at the venue of negotiations in Cancun.

Congregations and Christian groups who wish to hold photo sessions are welcome to use the climate justice posters provided below or to design their own message cards using the ecumenical symbol of the boat (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f670a9d9ee50d53bb471). An order of service (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=577c83a78835763be20e) and other liturgical resources (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6a13b5fbcbe852729d88) on the theme of creation and climate justice are also available.

For more information on the WCC and climate change visit http://www.oikoumene.org/climatechange (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=3c2aa6630ad6ab7811e0)

Posters (pdf):

• We Care for Creation (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=874be0d0c1f1eea0f2ed)

• Climate Justice Now! (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f676703073fd03bc6e59)

• Love your neighbour: Fight climate change (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=ed6b270697f8b37ac2e6)

World Council of Churches