Statement from the European Methodist Youth Climate Team
Photo credit: A. Hillert/LWF
STATEMENT TO HEADS OF STATES, CHURCH, AND BUSINESS LEADERS.
Following intense weeks of negotiations, protests, and actions COP27 had come to an end.
As Methodists, Wesleyan and Uniting Churches in Europe, we are calling on leaders and Head of States, to listen to our voices as young people.
The realities of global climate change, resulting from the impact of accumulated human activities, make the renewal of the way we inhabit the Earth an urgent imperative. The damage caused to the environment cannot be addressed justly, adequately, and sustainably without the implementation of climate justice policies.
The challenge of caring for the environment, our common heritage, is a collective and universal duty that belongs to all of humanity. For John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, God who created heaven and earth never abandoned his creation. God is the origin of all things and doesn't only preserve them but also redeemed them all. The love of God doesn't exclude a single form of life (John Wesley’s Sermon 67: On Divine Providence). The creation is the ultimate act of love, God is in all things and we must “see the Creator in the glass of every creature” (John Wesley’s Sermon 23 I. 11). As Methodists we can't pursue a life of sanctification without care for the environment, for justice, for education, for inequality.
COP27 is over, we strongly urge our leaders to strengthen their commitments to a just recovery from the climate crisis. Time is running out, we need to act NOW.
We need to use this opportunity to seek equity and prioritise the need to equip those who are at the forefront of the crisis, so that no one is left behind in this journey towards achieving climate goals.
As Methodist young people from around Europe we know that we are in a position where we need to empower and sustain our brothers and sisters who are disproportionately affected by this crisis.
We call upon leaders and stakeholders to establish loss and damage as a permanent point on the negotiation agenda, and ensure the establishment of a dedicated loss and damage finance facility.
As people of faith, we cannot let this moment pass by without doing everything that we can to seek climate justice. We hear the lament of our global family and the fear of future generations, as we face a crisis that brings us all together in its urgency. We must act now, in collective hope that enough can be done to enable God’s creation to thrive once again.
We pray that you would hear our voices and in turn, act with urgency and passion after COP27.
November 2022
European Methodist Youth Climate Team
Irene O. Abra – Methodist Church in Italy (OPCEMI)
Filipa Teixera – Methodist Church in Portugal
Daniel Steinvig – United Methodist Church in Denmark
Julia Sjöström – United Methodist Church in Sweden
Magdalena Gnigler – United Methodist Church in Austria
Sarah Bach – United Methodist Church in Switzerland
The European Methodist Youth Climate Team is part of the work of the European Methodist Council.