ACT Alliance opens a presence in Latin America and the Caribbean

Several high level events took place in San Salvador, El Salvador on the occasion of the launch of the regional presence of ACT Alliance for Latin America and the Caribbean end of October. As an outcome, it is expected that climate justice will be at the heart of the work of the ACT Alliance in the region.

“The goal of our work on climate justice is to protect lives,” said ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna during a public event held at the ministry of foreign affairs of El Salvador. The event was part of the launch of the regional office of the ACT Alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Nduna’s speech at the public event highlighted the need for strong regional cooperation around the two demands that ACT is putting forward to the global leaders that are expected to sign a climate agreement in Paris later this year.

“We want to see ambitious and strong climate actions at national and international levels, adequate to stop climate change and keep global warming well-below 1.5 degrees Celsius, that also delivers and scales up public finance to enable the poorest to adapt to climate change and continue to develop in a low carbon sustainable way,” Nduna said.

ACT Alliance has been engaged in initiatives worldwide around the “Act Now for Climate Justice” campaign, such as the Pan African Cycling Caravan, in which cyclists covered over 6500 kilometers from Mozambique to Kenya raising awareness about climate change. In Sweden, Norway and other European countries, ACT campaigners coordinated advocacy actions towards their respective governments.

In El Salvador and other Latin American countries, an ACT youth network has been working hard to engage communities, churches and other sectors of civil society around the two climate justice demands.

During the event at the Salvadorean chancellery, ACT’s regional representative Mr. Carlos Rauda collected the signatures of the vice-minister for cooperation and other government representatives and congressmen.

The campaign has an additional target of collecting one million signed petitions that will be delivered to leaders that will gather for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in the French capital between November 30 to December 11.

 

Sign the petition here.

 

UN climate talks: Close, but yet so far

While the number of hours left for climate negotiations are rapidly shrinking, the actual draft agreement is making little progress. The UN climate talks are expected to deliver a global climate agreement at the climate summit, COP21, in Paris in December, and the negotiations in Bonn this week were meant to advance the draft agreement.

ACT Alliance is a global network of churches and faith-based NGOs, working with development and relief, in 140 countries around the world. The General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, John Nduna, says:

“The people we meet on the ground are facing daily challenges due to the effects of climate change. We try to support them in their struggle to develop and build resilient livelihoods, but the increasing effects of droughts, floods and other climate related weather events hinder their efforts. Lack of meaningful progress towards the agreement is a big disappointment for the poor and vulnerable people who are disproportionately affected by climate change.”

The UN negotiations in Bonn end today, but after a week of negotiations, there is still a lot yet to be done. The head of the ACT Alliance delegation to the talks, Mattias Söderberg comments:

“Everybody knows that these negotiations are serious; they are not only about our own future, but also about the lives of poor and vulnerable people who are affected by climate change already today. I am deeply concerned about the slow progress and I urge negotiators to make a final effort to change their approach. All parties need to leave their comfort zones and start to look for agreeable solutions, which can foster a fair and ambitious agreement in Paris.”

Söderberg continues:

“There is no agreement about climate finance, the major questions of who should provide the finance, how much, and to who remain unanswered. The poor and vulnerable community remain confident that these questions will be answered in their favour, considering the fact that they are already affected by the impacts of climate change.”

“We know lack of action to reduce emissions will lead to a greater need for adaptation. However, with lack of finance for adaptation we will face even greater loss and damage. The logic is clear, but still developed countries refuse to give loss and damage proper attention.”

“Considering the lack of ambition in climate pledges made by countries during the past months, it is worrying to see the difficulties to reach agreement about mechanism to increase the ambition in the coming years. With no strong review possibilities and no agreed formats or accounting systems, low ambition may be locked in for decades”, adds Söderberg.

Earlier in the week, a statement signed by more than 150 faith leaders from different religions and countries was handed over to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. In the statement, the leaders encouraged governments to seriously consider the moral imperative of protecting the poor and most vulnerable in the climate change negotiations. ACT Alliance, General Secretary, John Nduna, concludes:

“We have faith and believe that world leaders can show leadership and take the necessary bold decisions. The climate summit in Paris is getting closer, and it is now time for ambitious action.”

COP21_Statement_englisch

For further comments, please contact the head of the ACT Alliance delegation, Mattias Söderberg, tel.: +45-29700609, email: msd@dca.dk

UN climate talks: Close, but yet so far

While the number of hours left for climate negotiations are rapidly shrinking, the actual draft agreement is making little progress. The UN climate talks are expected to deliver a global climate agreement at the climate summit, COP21, in Paris in December, and the negotiations in Bonn this week were meant to advance the draft agreement.

ACT Alliance is a global network of churches and faith-based NGOs, working with development and relief, in 140 countries around the world. The General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, John Nduna, says:

“The people we meet on the ground are facing daily challenges due to the effects of climate change. We try to support them in their struggle to develop and build resilient livelihoods, but the increasing effects of droughts, floods and other climate related weather events hinder their efforts. Lack of meaningful progress towards the agreement is a big disappointment for the poor and vulnerable people who are disproportionately affected by climate change.”

The UN negotiations in Bonn end today, but after a week of negotiations, there is still a lot yet to be done. The head of the ACT Alliance delegation to the talks, Mattias Söderberg comments:

“Everybody knows that these negotiations are serious; they are not only about our own future, but also about the lives of poor and vulnerable people who are affected by climate change already today. I am deeply concerned about the slow progress and I urge negotiators to make a final effort to change their approach. All parties need to leave their comfort zones and start to look for agreeable solutions, which can foster a fair and ambitious agreement in Paris.”

Söderberg continues:

“There is no agreement about climate finance, the major questions of who should provide the finance, how much, and to who remain unanswered. The poor and vulnerable community remain confident that these questions will be answered in their favour, considering the fact that they are already affected by the impacts of climate change.”

“We know lack of action to reduce emissions will lead to a greater need for adaptation. However, with lack of finance for adaptation we will face even greater loss and damage. The logic is clear, but still developed countries refuse to give loss and damage proper attention.”

“Considering the lack of ambition in climate pledges made by countries during the past months, it is worrying to see the difficulties to reach agreement about mechanism to increase the ambition in the coming years. With no strong review possibilities and no agreed formats or accounting systems, low ambition may be locked in for decades”, adds Söderberg.

Earlier in the week, a statement signed by more than 150 faith leaders from different religions and countries was handed over to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. In the statement, the leaders encouraged governments to seriously consider the moral imperative of protecting the poor and most vulnerable in the climate change negotiations. ACT Alliance, General Secretary, John Nduna, concludes:

“We have faith and believe that world leaders can show leadership and take the necessary bold decisions. The climate summit in Paris is getting closer, and it is now time for ambitious action.”

COP21_Statement_englisch

For further comments, please contact the head of the ACT Alliance delegation, Mattias Söderberg, tel.: +45-29700609, email: msd@dca.dk

UN climate talks: Close, but yet so far

While the number of hours left for climate negotiations are rapidly shrinking, the actual draft agreement is making little progress. The UN climate talks are expected to deliver a global climate agreement at the climate summit, COP21, in Paris in December, and the negotiations in Bonn this week were meant to advance the draft agreement.

ACT Alliance is a global network of churches and faith-based NGOs, working with development and relief, in 140 countries around the world. The General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, John Nduna, says:

“The people we meet on the ground are facing daily challenges due to the effects of climate change. We try to support them in their struggle to develop and build resilient livelihoods, but the increasing effects of droughts, floods and other climate related weather events hinder their efforts. Lack of meaningful progress towards the agreement is a big disappointment for the poor and vulnerable people who are disproportionately affected by climate change.”

The UN negotiations in Bonn end today, but after a week of negotiations, there is still a lot yet to be done. The head of the ACT Alliance delegation to the talks, Mattias Söderberg comments:

“Everybody knows that these negotiations are serious; they are not only about our own future, but also about the lives of poor and vulnerable people who are affected by climate change already today. I am deeply concerned about the slow progress and I urge negotiators to make a final effort to change their approach. All parties need to leave their comfort zones and start to look for agreeable solutions, which can foster a fair and ambitious agreement in Paris.”

Söderberg continues:

“There is no agreement about climate finance, the major questions of who should provide the finance, how much, and to who remain unanswered. The poor and vulnerable community remain confident that these questions will be answered in their favour, considering the fact that they are already affected by the impacts of climate change.”

“We know lack of action to reduce emissions will lead to a greater need for adaptation. However, with lack of finance for adaptation we will face even greater loss and damage. The logic is clear, but still developed countries refuse to give loss and damage proper attention.”

“Considering the lack of ambition in climate pledges made by countries during the past months, it is worrying to see the difficulties to reach agreement about mechanism to increase the ambition in the coming years. With no strong review possibilities and no agreed formats or accounting systems, low ambition may be locked in for decades”, adds Söderberg.

Earlier in the week, a statement signed by more than 150 faith leaders from different religions and countries was handed over to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. In the statement, the leaders encouraged governments to seriously consider the moral imperative of protecting the poor and most vulnerable in the climate change negotiations. ACT Alliance, General Secretary, John Nduna, concludes:

“We have faith and believe that world leaders can show leadership and take the necessary bold decisions. The climate summit in Paris is getting closer, and it is now time for ambitious action.”

COP21_Statement_englisch

For further comments, please contact the head of the ACT Alliance delegation, Mattias Söderberg, tel.: +45-29700609, email: msd@dca.dk

154 religious leaders from world regions call for climate resilient future

Faith_organisations

Today a statement signed by 154 religious leaders from different faith groups has been handed over to the Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres.

While negotiators representing 194 countries gather in Bonn this week to work on a draft text for December’s climate conference in Paris, religious leaders are issuing this call for an ambitious climate agreement, remind all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction, and pledge important contributions from their own faith communities, including divestment from fossil energy.

Among the signatories are: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Church of South Africa, Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, speaker of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), Imam Ibrahim Saidy, and Sulak Sivaraksa, International Network of Engaged Buddhists.

Coordinated by ACT Alliance, CIDSE, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Religions for Peace, and the Word Council of Churches, a common statement has been published today in Bonn, Germany. The statement was handed over to Ms. Christiana Figueres by Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, Director of Bread for the World, Germany, Karin Kortmann, Vice President of the Catholic Lay Council of Germany.

“We urge governments to commit to building climate resilience, phasing out fossil energies and reaching zero emissions by mid century. We call for a robust mechanism to review and ratchet up ambitions, transparency and accountability rules applicable to all, and the provision of finance and support to poor and vulnerable countries”, said Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel.

“Guided by our religious beliefs, we as faith leaders have come together to call for an ambitious Paris outcome. In the past month the UN family has decided to take responsibility for both, environment and humankind by approving the Agenda 2030. In Paris the heads of states and governments have the chance to give evidence, how serious they are. The survival of millions of human beings depends on them,” said Karin Kortmann.

This call builds on a growing number of calls from faith groups made throughout the last 12 months, such as the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, the declaration of the New York Interfaith Summit, the Lambeth Declaration, and the Islamic declaration on climate change. Such calls also mark the engagement of different faith groups working together towards the same goals. The message from faith groups is now unequivocal.

The declaration is available in COP21_Statement_englisch
French  COP21_Declaration_french

The statement is available in English
>COP21_Statement_englischPressReleaseFaithLeaderStatement_Oct2015,
in French PR Faith Leader Statement_FR
Spanish Draft press release faith leader statement_ACT_ESPAÑOL
and German.

Notes to editor:
Mattias Söderberg, ACT Alliance, +45-29700609

154 religious leaders from world regions call for climate resilient future

Faith_organisations

Today a statement signed by 154 religious leaders from different faith groups has been handed over to the Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres.

While negotiators representing 194 countries gather in Bonn this week to work on a draft text for December’s climate conference in Paris, religious leaders are issuing this call for an ambitious climate agreement, remind all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction, and pledge important contributions from their own faith communities, including divestment from fossil energy.

Among the signatories are: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Church of South Africa, Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, speaker of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), Imam Ibrahim Saidy, and Sulak Sivaraksa, International Network of Engaged Buddhists.

Coordinated by ACT Alliance, CIDSE, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Religions for Peace, and the Word Council of Churches, a common statement has been published today in Bonn, Germany. The statement was handed over to Ms. Christiana Figueres by Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, Director of Bread for the World, Germany, Karin Kortmann, Vice President of the Catholic Lay Council of Germany.

“We urge governments to commit to building climate resilience, phasing out fossil energies and reaching zero emissions by mid century. We call for a robust mechanism to review and ratchet up ambitions, transparency and accountability rules applicable to all, and the provision of finance and support to poor and vulnerable countries”, said Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel.

“Guided by our religious beliefs, we as faith leaders have come together to call for an ambitious Paris outcome. In the past month the UN family has decided to take responsibility for both, environment and humankind by approving the Agenda 2030. In Paris the heads of states and governments have the chance to give evidence, how serious they are. The survival of millions of human beings depends on them,” said Karin Kortmann.

This call builds on a growing number of calls from faith groups made throughout the last 12 months, such as the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, the declaration of the New York Interfaith Summit, the Lambeth Declaration, and the Islamic declaration on climate change. Such calls also mark the engagement of different faith groups working together towards the same goals. The message from faith groups is now unequivocal.

The declaration is available in COP21_Statement_englisch
French  COP21_Declaration_french

The statement is available in English
>COP21_Statement_englischPressReleaseFaithLeaderStatement_Oct2015,
in French PR Faith Leader Statement_FR
Spanish Draft press release faith leader statement_ACT_ESPAÑOL
and German.

Notes to editor:
Mattias Söderberg, ACT Alliance, +45-29700609

154 religious leaders from world regions call for climate resilient future

Faith_organisations

Today a statement signed by 154 religious leaders from different faith groups has been handed over to the Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres.

While negotiators representing 194 countries gather in Bonn this week to work on a draft text for December’s climate conference in Paris, religious leaders are issuing this call for an ambitious climate agreement, remind all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction, and pledge important contributions from their own faith communities, including divestment from fossil energy.

Among the signatories are: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Church of South Africa, Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, speaker of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), Imam Ibrahim Saidy, and Sulak Sivaraksa, International Network of Engaged Buddhists.

Coordinated by ACT Alliance, CIDSE, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Religions for Peace, and the Word Council of Churches, a common statement has been published today in Bonn, Germany. The statement was handed over to Ms. Christiana Figueres by Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, Director of Bread for the World, Germany, Karin Kortmann, Vice President of the Catholic Lay Council of Germany.

“We urge governments to commit to building climate resilience, phasing out fossil energies and reaching zero emissions by mid century. We call for a robust mechanism to review and ratchet up ambitions, transparency and accountability rules applicable to all, and the provision of finance and support to poor and vulnerable countries”, said Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel.

“Guided by our religious beliefs, we as faith leaders have come together to call for an ambitious Paris outcome. In the past month the UN family has decided to take responsibility for both, environment and humankind by approving the Agenda 2030. In Paris the heads of states and governments have the chance to give evidence, how serious they are. The survival of millions of human beings depends on them,” said Karin Kortmann.

This call builds on a growing number of calls from faith groups made throughout the last 12 months, such as the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, the declaration of the New York Interfaith Summit, the Lambeth Declaration, and the Islamic declaration on climate change. Such calls also mark the engagement of different faith groups working together towards the same goals. The message from faith groups is now unequivocal.

The declaration is available in COP21_Statement_englisch
French  COP21_Declaration_french

The statement is available in English
>COP21_Statement_englischPressReleaseFaithLeaderStatement_Oct2015,
in French PR Faith Leader Statement_FR
Spanish Draft press release faith leader statement_ACT_ESPAÑOL
and German.

Notes to editor:
Mattias Söderberg, ACT Alliance, +45-29700609

Concrete commitments needed to safeguard migrants’ rights

More legal channels for migration are needed to ensure refugees’ protection, and help migrants have access to decent work in destination countries, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

As the Global Forum on Migration and Development came to a close in Istanbul last week, ACT Alliance said that there is a clear need to address the systemic issues underlying the global migrant and refugee crisis debate to ensure a rights-based approach to related policy.

The Global Forum, which met from 14-16 October, brought together governments and civil society to discuss migration issues tied in to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, recruitment reform, migrants in crisis and related xenophobia.

“States have to protect human rights and labour rights, which form the cornerstone of fairer migration policies by ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,” said Sophia Wirsching, Chair of the ACT Alliance Community of Practice on Migration and Development. “This provides the means and the guidance to transform rights into effective tools to promote broader prosperity and realize sustainable development and ensure dignity for all, including for migrants.”

While the alliance welcomed the inclusion of migrants and migration in five of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals, it also stated that there was an urgent need for civil society to be effectively included in the formulation of indicators for the relevant targets, which are due in March 2016.

“The joint civil societies’ position for goals and targets of the global development agenda follows a human-centered, rights-based approach,” said Wirsching. “Migration is not a singled out phenomena but is linked to various dimensions of peoples’ struggles for equality, dignity, decent work and human rights. For these issues to be effectively addressed and resolved it is imperative that we have far more regular dialogue between civil society and governments on issues of migration and development. This is what will lead to more substantive engagement and sustainable results.”

Concrete commitments needed to safeguard migrants’ rights

More legal channels for migration are needed to ensure refugees’ protection, and help migrants have access to decent work in destination countries, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

As the Global Forum on Migration and Development came to a close in Istanbul last week, ACT Alliance said that there is a clear need to address the systemic issues underlying the global migrant and refugee crisis debate to ensure a rights-based approach to related policy.

The Global Forum, which met from 14-16 October, brought together governments and civil society to discuss migration issues tied in to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, recruitment reform, migrants in crisis and related xenophobia.

“States have to protect human rights and labour rights, which form the cornerstone of fairer migration policies by ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,” said Sophia Wirsching, Chair of the ACT Alliance Community of Practice on Migration and Development. “This provides the means and the guidance to transform rights into effective tools to promote broader prosperity and realize sustainable development and ensure dignity for all, including for migrants.”

While the alliance welcomed the inclusion of migrants and migration in five of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals, it also stated that there was an urgent need for civil society to be effectively included in the formulation of indicators for the relevant targets, which are due in March 2016.

“The joint civil societies’ position for goals and targets of the global development agenda follows a human-centered, rights-based approach,” said Wirsching. “Migration is not a singled out phenomena but is linked to various dimensions of peoples’ struggles for equality, dignity, decent work and human rights. For these issues to be effectively addressed and resolved it is imperative that we have far more regular dialogue between civil society and governments on issues of migration and development. This is what will lead to more substantive engagement and sustainable results.”

Concrete commitments needed to safeguard migrants’ rights

More legal channels for migration are needed to ensure refugees’ protection, and help migrants have access to decent work in destination countries, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

As the Global Forum on Migration and Development came to a close in Istanbul last week, ACT Alliance said that there is a clear need to address the systemic issues underlying the global migrant and refugee crisis debate to ensure a rights-based approach to related policy.

The Global Forum, which met from 14-16 October, brought together governments and civil society to discuss migration issues tied in to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, recruitment reform, migrants in crisis and related xenophobia.

“States have to protect human rights and labour rights, which form the cornerstone of fairer migration policies by ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,” said Sophia Wirsching, Chair of the ACT Alliance Community of Practice on Migration and Development. “This provides the means and the guidance to transform rights into effective tools to promote broader prosperity and realize sustainable development and ensure dignity for all, including for migrants.”

While the alliance welcomed the inclusion of migrants and migration in five of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals, it also stated that there was an urgent need for civil society to be effectively included in the formulation of indicators for the relevant targets, which are due in March 2016.

“The joint civil societies’ position for goals and targets of the global development agenda follows a human-centered, rights-based approach,” said Wirsching. “Migration is not a singled out phenomena but is linked to various dimensions of peoples’ struggles for equality, dignity, decent work and human rights. For these issues to be effectively addressed and resolved it is imperative that we have far more regular dialogue between civil society and governments on issues of migration and development. This is what will lead to more substantive engagement and sustainable results.”

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