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Event details
COP30 will take place in Belem in the Brazilian Amazon from 10-21 November, with the Heads of State Summit beforehand on 6-7 November.
Key issues on the agenda include: how to step up efforts to limit the world to 1.5 degree warming, how to provide climate finance that supports climate action in developing countries and prioritises local communities, and the need for a just transition away from fossil fuels.
At the recent online press conference, Christian leaders from different denominations who will be attending COP30 spoke of the impact of climate change on their local communities, how the church is mobilising, and their demands to governments and the international community.
They shared stories of how their local communities are responding to climate change, and how they are raising their voices towards decision-makers on the pertinent issues.
The event included brief presentations by speakers with the opportunity for questions and was moderated by Simon Chambers, Head of Communications, ACT Alliance.
Watch: Pre-COP 30 Ecumenical Faith Leaders’ Press Conference
Speakers
The Most Revd Archbishop Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto is the Anglican Primate of Brazil and Bishop of Belem. She is a strong advocate for indigenous and environmental rights and has been active across Brazil and globally in bringing these voices into climate spaces. The Anglican Church is welcoming a wide range of church and indigenous groups to the Anglican Cathedral in Belém during COP30. She welcomed Latin American Faith Leaders to Brazil in March 2025 to plan towards COP and produced a Call to Action outlining some key issues, which they presented to Brazilian Environment Minister, Marina Silva.
Musamba Mubanga serves as a Senior Advocacy Officer at Caritas Internationalis, coordinating and facilitating efforts in integral ecology, food security, climate change, water, and biodiversity. She actively engages with communities, leading projects that bolster their capacity to address climate change and pursue alternative livelihood sources, thereby ensuring improved income, food, and water security.
Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm is Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and Moderator of the World Council of Churches. A systematic theologian specialising in social ethics, he speaks out on many social issues.
- Jocabed Solano is an Indigenous Leader from the Guandule Nation in Panama and Director of Memoria Indigena. She is a member of the World Council of Churches' Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development and a negotiator for Panama on Just Transition.