Anglicans will advocate to restore and protect the ‘lungs of the earth’ at this November’s COP30 in Belém in the Brazilian Amazon from 10-21 November. The advocacy focus on oceans, forests and ice landscapes as vital ecosystems, has been developed in consultation with Anglican indigenous peoples around the world. Oceans, forests, and ice caps are all at risk primarily due to human-driven climate change, which has cascading effects on these interconnected global systems.

The People’s COP
 

This year’s COP30 has been described as ‘The People’s COP’, with ‘The People’s Summit’ running as a parallel event to the official UN climate conference. It will gather faith groups, social movements and indigenous voices.
 

In a region where the destruction of the Amazon rainforest as a major ‘lung of the earth’ has seen 68.9 million hectares of forest cover lost between 2001 and 2023, the role of ‘The People’s Summit’ is expected to have a significant influence on the COP discussions. A manifesto calls for change in the areas of climate action, land and territory rights, economic and social justice. It demands Brazil take leadership on these issues and calls for broad civil society mobilisation to pressure decision-makers at COP 30 and beyond.

Primate of Brazil will host a Tapiri
 

The Most Revd Marinez Bassotto – the Primate of Brazil and Bishop of the Amazon – will play a major role during the ‘People’s Summit’ hosting a ‘Tapiri’ at the Catedral Anglicana de Santa Maria, with other ecumenical and inter faith leaders. Tapiri is an indigenous word from the Tupi language, which means the house were the indigenous communities gather to have conversations. Activities will include a People’s March, a Vigil and a Boat Parade, as means to convey their messages about the environment. Archbishop Marinez will also attend COP30 discussions to advocate for climate justice.
 

Archbishop Marinez emphasises that the voices of the indigenous peoples, (including the riverine, quilombola and traditional communities), must be heard: ’Their voices need to be at the centre of discussions, because they are the ones who hold the ancestral and practical knowledge necessary for preservation. Climate justice will only be achieved when the territorial and cultural rights of these communities are fully recognised and respected. We want their voices to influence the negotiations… [to ensure] that the commitments made at the Summit are translated into concrete, effective and fair action.’

Anglicans from around the world to attend COP30

Martha Jarvis, the Anglican Communion’s Permanent Representative to the UN is coordinating the Anglican presence at COP30, which will draw together a number of climate advocates, youth leaders and activists from across the Anglican Communion.
 

With a particular focus on indigenous Anglicans, this includes: 

The Most Revd Don Tamihere (Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia), Fe’iloakitau Kaho Tevi (Climate Change Commissioner) from the same Province, the Rev. Isaiah “Shaneequa” Brokenleg (Interim Indigenous Minister from the Episcopal Church), Ayanna Evelyn of Barbados (a representative of the Anglican Communion’s Youth Network), members of the Creation Justice Working Group of Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil and members of Green Anglicans (including Charles Bakolo, a Green Anglicans coordinator for Malawi and Rev Aurelio Uqueio, a coordinator for IAMA ( Igreja Anglicana de Mocambique e Angola).
 

Anglican Advocacy at COP30

COP 30 is seen as a crucial meeting as it marks critical halfway point to 2030, when countries are expected to meet their climate pledges under the Paris Agreement. There have been calls for COP30 to focus on saving tropical forests. More widely, COP30 will focus on the efforts needed to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C, the presentation of new NDCs (national plans to address climate change) and actioning the financial pledges made at COP29.
 

Anglican Advocacy at COP will prioritise the people on the front line of climate crisis, who have done the least to contribute to climate change and have the fewest material resources to respond. Joining with other faith groups, leaders, scientists, campaigners, and indigenous representatives, they will call on governments to:

• Listen to the voices of the Amazon and indigenous wisdom worldwide that has cared for creation over generations.
   
• Work with faith groups to strengthen resilience in communities on the front line of climate crisis, including Pacific islands, Arctic villages, Amazon settlements and coastal towns.
   
• Keep promises on climate finance so that all nations can thrive.
   
• Speed the just transition away from fossil fuel dependency.
   
• Commit to changing international finance systems to protect the poorest people and share global resources more fairly.

Anglican Action – Caring for God’s World
 

Anglicans at COP will profile Anglican churches involved in environmental action to represent the vital role faith groups can play in achieving change. For example, the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia’s work in campaigning for ocean restoration, the Anglican Church of Kenya’s goal of planting 15 million trees to restore parts of the  Karura urban forest in Nairobi, and the Church of England drive to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. More recently, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, lead bishop for the environment, has won parliamentary backing to gain legal protection for nature-rich streams.
 

Alongside activities at COP30, the ‘Lungs of the Earth’ initiative is inviting churches to protect oceans, forests and ice caps, through reforestation initiatives, reducing plastic pollution and reducing emissions. A focus on the Communion Forest, continues to be one of the major ways in which churches are joining their efforts globally. The project has launched a virtual mapper with ‘Restor’ to help anyone across the world map their activities.
 

Environmental damage is a life and death issue

After COP30, Anglican advocacy will focus on mobilising Anglican churches and environmental networks to lobby international governments to progress COP30 outcomes.
 

The Anglican Communion’s UN Permanent Representative, Martha Jarvis says: ‘The Bible starts in a garden and ends in a city, perfectly balanced with trees (which have leaves for the healing of the nations) and a river (of life). Our relationship with creation is central to God’s story of redemption and how we flourish in this world. As we call for policies that protect and restore the lungs of the earth, we are aligning government action with Jesus’s restoration of all things – not only restoring creation but also the relationships that have been broken by the injustice of environmental damage, which is a life and death issue for people who have done the least to cause it. Churches, governments and others are already beginning to change. Solar energy production outpaced coal for the first time this year. This movement needs accelerating and guiding and we count on people of faith to add their voices and actions to those efforts at COP30 and beyond.‘