Geneva, Switzerland, 6 November 2026
Creation is a sacred gift, not a commodity. With this conviction, the World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance, and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) speak together ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. The churches call on governments to deliver climate justice: cut emissions and pay the finance they promised.
In its Emissions Gap Report 2026, published on 21 October, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that the world is almost certain to go above 1.5°C of warming. To return to 1.5°C by 2100, global emissions must fall by 18 percent by 2030, 45 percent by 2035, and 69 percent by 2040, compared with 2025 levels.
Our communities and the future of our children and life on Earth must come before corporate interests and geopolitical agendas. Our future is not for sale. Wealthy industrialised countries, whose historical emissions have contributed most to the climate emergency and who have greater capacity to act, must take the lead and commit to an equitable, orderly and rapid phase-out of coal, oil and gas.
For the churches, climate finance is a matter of justice, not charity. High-income, high-emitting countries must deliver the 300 billion US dollars a year by 2035 agreed at COP29. Keeping to responsibilities, mandates and commitments made to protect the climate system under the UN Climate Convention and its instruments such as the Paris Agreement is a matter of urgency, equity, and justice. This has been ruled on by the International Court of Justice.
Care for creation flows from the core calling of the church. Churches in the countries most exposed to the climate crisis already carry its weight every day, and young people tell us clearly that climate justice is intergenerational justice. At COP31, governments must keep the promises they have made and protect the most vulnerable, because whatever we do for the least of our sisters and brothers, we do for Christ.
In Antalya, the delegations of the WCC, ACT Alliance, and the LWF will follow the negotiations side by side and meet every morning and early evening for joint briefings. On 15 November, delegates will pray together at the COP31 Ecumenical Service at St Alypios’ Church.
