Values, Scientific Knowledge to Enhance Environmental Awareness - Discussions at COP29

The fifth day of the Faith Pavilion at COP29 featured a series of discussion sessions addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change. Sessions emphasized the importance of enhancing transparency in global climate action and advocated for the unification of efforts by faith communities to achieve tangible results in tackling the environmental crisis. They also focused on combining religious values with scientific knowledge to raise environmental awareness and protect the communities most affected by the impacts of climate change.

In his opening remarks, Eugene Cho, CEO of Bread for the World, highlighted that climate change is one of the key drivers of global hunger and poverty. He noted that 45 million children suffer from severe malnutrition and that climate-related disasters have impacted 1.7 billion people over the past decade. Cho stressed the importance of collective action to address these critical challenges through decisive and immediate measures to protect the planet and mitigate the effects of climate change on vulnerable and affected communities.

During the first session, titled "Defining Climate Discourses: A More Effective Strategy for Engaging Grassroots Communities in Faith-Based Climate Diplomacy," participants explained that grassroots climate discussions often rely heavily on religious understandings of environmental changes, which may sometimes differ from scientific and technical language. They emphasized the importance of involving mid-level and grassroots religious leaders to directly guide communities and recognizing the impact of religious knowledge in understanding and addressing climate change as part of efforts to tackle environmental challenges.

The second session, "Aligning Transparency: Navigating Requirements for Nationally Determined Contributions to Enhance Climate Action," highlighted the importance of promoting transparency to support global climate efforts, particularly concerning Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Participants stressed the need to implement transparency principles in measuring countries' progress toward achieving climate goals, thereby building trust among nations and the international community by providing accurate data on emissions and climate policies.