Dr. Melissa Lem, a member of Christ Church Cathedral and President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, has travelled to attend COP30. At this past Sunday’s service, the Reverend Matthew Senf blessed her and offered prayers for her safe journey.
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Update on Anglican Rector Emilie Smith’s (St. Barnabas in NW) pilgrimage to COP30 in Belém, Brazil (excerpts from her Substack account).
After traveling 14,000 kilometres in three months using numerous modes of transportation (bicycles, boats, buses, trains, cars, a couple of short plane rides, a dozen tuctucs (three-wheeled, open-air auto-rickshaw), the back of a motorcycle twice, and on foot, traveling through 10 countries and 25 communities, the Reverend Emilie Smith arrived in Belém, Brazil on Nov. 9 to attend COP30.
Numerous meetings will be held to work on combating climate change with various activities, prayer services, marches, meals, and celebrations.
At the Lutheran church there was a gathering of interfaith leaders for the Talanoa Dialogue. The meeting included 150 people from many traditions and every continent to discuss how religious communities might be part of the challenge to the climate crisis.
The Franciscans (about 50 from every continent) met on challenging the extractive industry. There was testimony from: the Philippines, India, up and down Abya Yala: Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, around Africa, particularly Zimbabwe and Congo.
At the annual World Social Forum, people and organizations from areas affected by extraction (metal mining, petroleum) came together. They realized that while global mining companies are organized, they were active locally, churches, legal organizations, so these activists formed: The Thematic Social Forum on Mining. They met in South Africa, then Co-vid. In 2023 they met in Indonesia. Their third meeting is in Belém as part of the Peoples’ Summit, happening parallel to COP30. The plan for Saturday’s meeting was to come away with a declaration proclaiming two things:
1. An affirmation of affected communities around the world and their right to say no.
2. Challenge the false narrative of a ‘clean energy transition’ which is a mask on the continued extractive practices driven by greed and devasting communities.
For more info on United Nations Climate Change and the Conference:
https://unfccc.int/
https://unfccc.int/cop30