COP31, the UN climate conference, begins today. Türkiye will hold the COP Presidency and host the summit while Australia will oversee negotiations.
COP31, the UN climate conference, begins today. Türkiye will hold the COP Presidency and host the summit while Australia will oversee negotiations.
COP31 is being held in Türkiye, with Australia in charge of the negotiations
The stakes are high. For many communities that CAFOD works with, the climate crisis isn’t a distant threat. Countries that did the least to contribute to global carbon emissions are experiencing severe droughts, catastrophic flooding and escalating food insecurity right now.
Pope Leo calls us to ecological conversion, saying in his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, "What has been used for destruction can be redirected toward life, toward the care of the poor, the nourishment of the hungry, and the safeguarding of creation.” (cf. Francis, Laudato Si’, 217)."
Lower-income nations are trapped in a vicious cycle: they bear the worse impact of a climate crisis they did not create, while being drained of resources by crippling foreign debt.
Poorer nations cannot protect their people from severe climate impacts such as rising seas or severe droughts when they are forced to pay billions in debt servicing to wealthy private banks.
Rooted in this reality, our demands for the UK government at this COP are:
Climate leadership: The government must restore its reputation for climate leadership at COP31. They can do this through building an ambition coalition to rachet up progress towards keeping global warming below a 1.5°C increase.
Grants, not debt: Deliver climate finance as new, additional grants rather than loans. In the spirit of Jubilee debt relief, climate finance must build resilience, not trap lower-income countries in endless cycles of disaster debt.
Climate finance: The UK must significantly increase its climate finance contributions in line with its outsized historic responsibility and capability. This money must come from taxing polluters, not ordinary taxpayers. Providing fair climate finance is simply an act of restorative justice.
We will be watching developments at COP31 closely, mindful that the negotiations in conference halls have a huge impact on the daily lives of our sisters and brothers all around the world. To keep up to date, join our webinar live from Türkiye on Tuesday 10 November at 6pm – sign up below.
Would you like to know how decisions at this year's United Nations climate talks will affect the fight for climate justice? Join our webinar live from Türkiye on Tuesday 10 November at 6pm as CAFOD Advocacy Director Neil Thorns shares insights from the COP31 climate talks.
We will explore the main issues on the table, discuss the level of priority the UK government is giving to climate action with the Prime Minister present, and look at the Holy See’s vital role in championing the world’s most vulnerable communities.