COP28 - 30 Nov 2023
More about COPs

Welcome to our prayer guide, shadowing the twenty-eighth Conference of Parties (COP28) aimed at addressing climate change. It’s hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Often the topics and issues seem very complicated, and we will do our best to make them easier to understand, without introducing bias. We begin today with an overview of climate change, and of the COPs process for you to pray into.

We hope that today, and throughout the fortnight of COP28 we can inspire and inform your prayers.

A short prayer

We pray for the Church: that she may be a beacon of hope throughout the world, reminding us all of our responsibility to care for and protect God’s precious gift of creation. Lord, in your mercy...

We pray for the world, our common home: that through God’s grace we may hear its cry of the damage done and be moved to protect it for future generations to enjoy. Lord, in your mercy...

We pray for those people who are already facing droughts, floods and storms: that God may grant them strength and hope for the future as they work to adapt to the changing climate. Lord, in your mercy...

We pray for the world we live in: that God may open our eyes to recognise the goodness of all creation and help us to do what we can to restore and care for the wonderful gift that we have been given. Lord, in your mercy…

CAFOD's Creation-Tide Intercessions

A longer prayer

Lord God, climate change feels like the biggest of big issues. We are forced to pray, like the man in Mark chapter 9: ‘we believe, help us in our unbelief’.

Lord have mercy on us, the human race. We repent of the damage we are bringing to your beautiful ecosystem, on which we depend so completely.

We pray for your mercy on those whose lives are already imperilled and impoverished by climate change. We pray for your mercy on the next generations as the climate continues to deteriorate before it improves. We pray that in the coming fortnight Christians around the world would be strengthened and emboldened in our prayers.

Help us to remember that all authority in heaven and on earth resides with our Saviour. Help us make big prayers in faith.

We pray for the political leaders to be ambitious, creative, and to have mercy and justice in mind.

We pray for those who have technology, finance and resources to contribute, to be generous and effective.

We pray that civil society organisations will be able to bring the voices of the poor, and those already facing real difficulties to the fore.

And we pray that those voices will carry authority and help to steer the outcomes of COP28.

We pray for your Spirit to guide the talks and decisions.

We pray for unity among the delegates.

From the Bible

Mark 9:21-24

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Matthew 5: 3-10

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Issues

What is Climate Change

For the last two hundred - two hundred and fifty years humans have been burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, gas. Coal came first, with the invention of the steam locomotive and steam engines to assist in mining and driving factories. The Industrial Revolution spread around what we now call the “Developed World” or “Global North”, leading to increased population and higher standards of living. So we started burning fossil fuels in personal transport, recreation and the manufacture of ever more consumer goods. About fifty years ago scientists discovered that CO2 or carbon dioxide - a gas which is produced by the burning of fossil fuels - was causing the “Greenhouse Effect”. Being lighter than air the CO2 rises into the upper atmosphere where, in very large accumulations it acts a bit like a layer of glass in a greenhouse: in other words it traps heat inside the atmosphere. The result is more energetic weather: warmer yes, but also with more rain and more storms, hurricanes and cyclones. Another result is rising sea levels as the sea gets bigger. Everything expands, albeit only very slightly, when it warms up; the sea is no exception; but the sea is so enormous that its expansion makes a measurable difference at the coast. The sea is also swollen by melting Arctic and Antarctic ice.
For the huge numbers of people around the world who live in low-lying coastal areas, the rising sea water and increasing storms are a huge problem. At the other extreme deserts are expanding as average temperatures rise, and the amount and timing of rain is becoming less reliable. Farming has become much more precarious for millions.
The UK is not experiencing the life or death consequences of climate change that other nations - but even in Scotland, daily life is impacted

Justice

The obvious injustice in climate change is that it is mostly the outcome of activities in the Global North - rich industrialised countries; but is having the biggest impact on the poorest - the Global South. There is another injustice though, to do with timing. It takes decades for CO2 to build up in the atmosphere and reek its havoc on the weather. By the same token, any reductions in CO2 emissions will take decades to have their climate-change-reducing effect. The damage already caused will push up global average temperatures in the rest of the twenty-first century, causing dreadful climate change for our children and grandchildren. Once again the problem will be born by those who were not its cause.

COPs

Every year the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) convenes a Conference of Parties (COP). People who turn up include heads of state, finance ministers and other senior people in governments, various powerful institutions and agencies, leaders from business and industry and civil society organisations. On the agenda are really huge discussions about water, agriculture, food, health, how we generate & distribute energy, travel and transport, finance, partnerships and so on. The inherent injustices in climate change make it very hard for COP summits to succeed. We, now, need to implement major change which will benefit other people in the future. The rich and powerful need to make changes which will benefit the poor. With the best will in the world, heads of state in the Global North have trouble getting voted in, if they are seen to give away power and money, and heads of business and industry have trouble selling that message to their share-holders. So, we the public are to blame too.

That is why it is so important to pray.

Hope

We draw hope from the United Nations: their efforts in convening the COP summits
Christians and churches around the world praying for COP28
Political pressure for change, especially from young people: school climate strikes, the Green Party, Just Stop Oil
The Coat of Hopes is a patchwork pilgrim coat made, worn and walked by many hundreds of people since it began its route, on England’s South coast, towards COP26 in Glasgow. It is made of pieces of blanket into which people have worked their griefs, remembrances, prayers and hopes for our world; bringing us together in this time of climate emergency. Its pilgrimage continues

COP28 discussions

This year’s summit, COP28 includes workshops on:-

Health
Relief and recovery for areas already suffering the impact of climate change
Peace
Finance
Trade
The accountability of governments and major institutions for the commitments they have made
Gender equality
Energy
Industry
Urbanisation
Transport
Youth
Education
Nature and land-use, agriculture, food
Oceans
Water

Find out more

UN FCCC’s COP28 page
From carbon capture to King Charles: what to look out for at Cop28 - Guardian 25 November
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes scientific reports on the extent and impact of climate change. You can read any of their reports on https://www.ipcc.ch
When we pray we have agency; and we need urgency. In November this year scientists began to say with certainty that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. The Paris Agreement signed by 196 countries in 2016 (which now turns out to be the second hottest year on record) - is a commitment to keep global warming “well below 2ºc above pre-industrial levels. 2023 is coming in at 1.43ºc above average pre-industrial levels (from: Guardian on-line accessed 8 November 2023)
Chatham House: what is COP28 & why is it important
A Christian climate scientist gives her perspective on global warming
Christianity.org on climate change
Pope Francis on climate change

COP28 - 30 Nov 2023More about COPs