Thus begins a joint message from the regional bishops’ conferences and councils from Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, in coordination with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

The full title of the document, which was released at a Vatican press conference July 1, speaks for itself: “A Call for Climate Justice and The Common Home: Ecological Conversion, Transformation and Resistance to False Solutions.” 

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Aside from the content of the document, the united voice issuing it is remarkable. Essentially the churches in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, wherein reside the vast majority of the poorest people on the planet who are most affected by climate change, have raised their voice ahead of COP30, the UN Climate Conference to take place in Belem, Brazil this November. We should listen.

Almost nobody noticed as the respected Copernicus Climate Change Service announced in January that 2024, in addition to being the hottest year on record, exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time. A 1.5 degree average global temperature increase is the threshold set by the Paris Climate agreement in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. 

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It is my hope that COP30 will help to refocus global society on this existential issue of our time. It seems to me that it has dropped off our radar in the face of rising socio-political polarization and violent conflict. And yet, to hear author Naomi Klein say it, there is a link between these two things.

There is a rising and disturbing phenomenon within the ranks of the rich and powerful of the world that contributes to the political and social turmoil plaguing our headlines; something that Naomi Klein called ‘end times fascism’ in an April 2025 article written for the Guardian. This brand of fascism is marked by a “a monstrous, supremacist survivalism,” she says. “To put it bluntly, the most powerful people in the world are preparing for the end of the world, an end they themselves are frenetically accelerating.” 

End times fascism is the alternative to ecological conversion.  It is a truly dystopian future where the better part of humanity will be abandoned to a ruined planet while a select and ‘worthy’ few live in fortressed cities or countries in denial of the destruction they have caused. There is nothing hopeful about it, not even for those who will benefit from it. Throughout history, many groups of people and even whole societies, threatened by the call to conversion, have fallen prey to the mistaken idea that humans are capable of insulating themselves forever from the justice of God. Made in the image of God, human beings cannot deny the command of their Creator to care for one another for very long. 

The call to ecological conversion is, in contrast to end times fascism, inherently hopeful. The call to conversion is in essence a statement that change, even collective change, is possible. If we were damned, there would be no call to convert. This is core to the Christian faith – it is never too late – for anyone. God is always there waiting with open arms.

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In their important message to COP30, the Churches in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean extend their arms to us. Let us not forget that we ourselves live in the global north, in a country that may well become one of the apocalyptic fortresses of the future. The authors call for a “A North-South Coalition for Climate, Nature, and Humanity.”  It is an invitation to “rebuild trust in cooperation and dialogue, uniting as humanity to face the climate, nature and biodiversity crises, advocating for the rights of all living beings, as well as a change in the economic model in favour of the common good and future generations.”

That is an invitation that I hope we as the Church in Canada will take seriously. This November a delegation from Development & Peace – Caritas Canada, including our National Council president and two of our bishops, will travel to Brazil to stand with the Church of the Global South at COP30.  We echo with them the prayer that concludes their message, “May COP 30 not be just another summit, but a milestone of resistance, intercontinental coordination and real transformation. May it be guided by the living force of communities, by the hope that springs from the margins, and by a Church that is deeply synodal, that walks with the people.”