QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Program (HICC) participated in the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council, delivering two statements addressing climate justice and human rights. Both statements were given on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and in collaboration with Soka Gakkai International (SGI).
Both statements provided an opportunity for HICC to support the important work of these UN experts in linking human rights with pressing climate and environmental concerns closely connected to QUNO’s values of equality, peace, and sustainability. We are grateful to Soka Gakkai International for their support, collaboration and joint endorsement.
Please find more information on the Human Rights Council reports and FWCC/SGI full written statements here.
Image courtesy of ‘Friends Journal’ and FWCC: “Food distribution in Gatumba, Burundi, supported by FWCC’s Climate Emergency Fund, following floods, 2024.“
‘Friends Journal’, a prominent Quaker media publication, recently profiled actions Quaker meetings and communities are taking around the world to address and respond to climate change.
Staff writer Sharlee DiMenichi highlights efforts taken at the local and international levels by Quakers including in Kenya, Bolivia, the Philippines, and at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The article demonstrates Friends’ widespread concern for climate as a peace and justice issue while documenting specific examples of the personalized impacts of a warming planet. It delves into the ongoing work of various Quaker organizations including climate related efforts by Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), Friends International Bilingual Center (FIBC), Quaker Earthcare Witness, Earth Quaker Action Team, and Quaker United Nations Office. Portraying the depth and breadth of these actions, it is clear that Friends are witnessing and responding to a wide range of public health, economic, and weather related effects of climate change. Their work is clearly critical in implementing sustainable practices to address climate change’s root causes.
Grounding Quaker action in foundational testimonies of peace, equality, and sustainability is a commitment shared across the world and Friends Journal has written about these efforts in an inspiring and galvanizing piece.
The Interfaith Liaison Committee, is organizing a webinar series in spring 2025 and invites all interested individuals and interfaith organizations to attend and co-develop the Interfaith Talanoa Call to Action towards COP30.
Don’t hesitate to join this opportunity to make your voice heard, and to share this invitation with others.
Please find the invitation for the ILC series of webinars towards COP30 here.
Individual registration links for each webinar in the series are available as well below:
Johan Cavert, Programme Assistant for the Human Impacts of Climate Change at the Quaker United Nations Office, reflects on his experience of United Nations climate change talks. (This piece is reposted from Britain Yearly Meeting. The original can be found here.)
Arriving at the UN climate change talks (COP29) in Azerbaijan, a clarion of trumpets and beating drums echoed from large speakers, heralding the entrance to the conference complex. Listening each morning reminded me of the insistent and repeated demands from civil society and observers calling for just and equitable climate finance.
At the same time, I was struck by the large temporary tent city constructed for the over 60,000 attendees who traversed the conference halls. Surrounded on all sides by artificial construction, it was hard not to notice the ways in which – literally and figuratively – negotiations in Baku resembled a circus. Pageantry is at times necessary and the symbolism of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) cannot be denied. Nonetheless, bread and circuses will no longer be sufficient for those seeking justice.
A concerning COP
A clear call to increase financing for the most vulnerable was sounded repeatedly at COP29. It frequently went unheeded. Throughout two weeks of heated negotiations, states remained at loggerheads over the primary issue being discussed – how much money to commit for the New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance (NCQG).
Developing countries demanded over US$1.3 trillion in grants be paid each year by developed countries. For their part, developed countries avoided committing to any numbers until the eleventh hour, and only then proposed a figure and language that was highly disappointing. Well more than 24 hours overtime, states adopted a text that failed to advance significant action addressing the climate crisis.
In addition to this being my first time attending COP, it was also my first experience observing international negotiations. I left Baku inspired by the global solidarity and commitment displayed by a wide array of individuals and organisations. At the same time, I came away discouraged by the apparent lack of urgency in the multilateral process.
I was not the only participant whose faith in global governance came away bruised. Many speakers underlined that this was the 29th iteration of annual negotiations and yet increases of carbon emissions continue. Amidst proceedings, a group of distinguished global leaders released an open letter which called into question the hosting process, given the past two COPs have been led by economies highly dependent on fossil fuels. Azerbaijan’s COP Presidency was already a focus of concern before the conference began, due to a report showing how the Presidency saw the event as an opportunity to sign oil and gas deals. Modernist skyscrapers along Baku’s coast tower over the oil fields of the Caspian sea, displaying the connection between the country’s economic wealth and its longstanding reliance on fossil fuels. President Ilham Aliyev said the quiet part out loud when he stated that Azerbaijan’s fossil fuel resources are “a gift from God”.
Inspiring action within a flawed system
Azerbaijan was also criticised for its rights record and unjust detention of government critics and environmental human rights defenders. I was grateful to participate in the human rights and climate change working group which worked to publicise demands for a more open and inclusive space for civil society. Actions at the conference were restricted to pre-assigned spaces and detailed requirements were imposed on messaging and speech.
Having been refused the chance to sing or chant during one action, participants instead hummed together in a creative act of melodic resistance. The limited number of delegate slots available and the difficulty in travelling to Baku highlighted the impact of those in attendance. At the same time, it was inspiring to realise that those on the ground were just the tip of the iceberg of a global movement.
In the midst of insufficient political will, we must continue to work for meaningful progress from international negotiations while remaining clear that national action and advocacy are essential to international success. The circus atmosphere that at times pervaded Baku only underlines the importance of speaking honestly about the role power and influence play in perpetuating systems of injustice.
A Quaker presence at COP is an important witness that care for creation involves living sustainably and in just relationship with the earth. The call for climate justice and equitable financing has been broadcast clearly. It must be echoed and acted on.
Lindsey Fielder Cook, Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change at the Quaker United Nations Office, reports back from COP29. (This piece is reposted from Britain Yearly Meeting. The original can be found here.)
The atmosphere during the recent climate change Conference of Parties 29 (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, at times felt ominous. Trust between countries, always fragile, received hard blows.
Photo credit: Simon Chambers/ACT
The wider political influences
At its core, the COP29 was about increasing financial commitments from developed to developing countries, at a time when the wealthiest and highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting developed country was likely to leave the process. More widely, the COP was held in a dangerous time for international relations. Powerful member states threaten use of nuclear weapons, block ceasefires and remain silent over a plausible case of genocide and attacks on UN agencies, openly reject the highest legal voices (International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court), and systemically underfund multilateral bodies while global military spending now surpasses 2.4 trillion USD. The COP29, like the recent UN Summit of the Future in September, the biodiversity COP and negotiations for a treaty on plastic pollution, have all been affected.
The COP29 began with host nation Azerbaijan referring to fossil fuels as a “gift from God”. In the negotiation room, countries discussed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation, yet nearly every fossil fuel wealthy country in the room planned oil and gas production increases which would eliminate chances for a 1.5°C global temperature rise limit.
The denial in the room is no longer about the dangers of climate change – this is agreed. The denial now regards the ‘how’ as countries look to false solutions including geo-engineering. Too few decision makers are ready to honestly address root causes driving planetary crises in our unsustainable and inequitable energy, economic and agriculture systems. Nonetheless, there are some brave actors in the room including Colombia, which announced a cap on fossil fuel extraction. Meanwhile the UK reiterated Labour’s manifesto commitment to cap new oil and gas licenses.
What was agreed, what is at stake
Leading up to the COP29, negotiators had three years to prepare a new collective quantified goal for climate finance (NCQG), set to replace and update the ‘100 billion USD a year by 2020’ promise critical to establishing the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, that 100 billion USD a year did not materialise fully until after 2020, and harmed trust in this process.
Over the years, civil society including the Quaker United Nations Office and Quakers in Britain have proposed approaches that would make polluters pay, including fair sources of finance for loss and damage (PDF). The Paris Agreement committed developed countries to lead on financing and mitigation; they have the highest per capita GHG emissions, the highest historical emissions, and in most cases benefited financially from colonisation.
However, at the COP29 we witnessed stand-offs, last minute drafts, selective sharing, walkouts, and final language mirroring the last ineffective finance deal. Specifically, inclusion of the word ‘by’ in the clause “with developed countries taking the lead, of at least USD 300 billion per year by 2035″. The ‘by’ allows 11 years for full delivery. The text also contains no clear commitment to protect sufficient grants rather than loans that exacerbate debt, it includes many references to private finance over public finance, and no analysis on the diluting impact of inflation.
There were decisions relating to the Global Goal on Adaptation, though again without sufficient funding. A decision to extend the enhanced Lima work programme on gender was met with efforts to weaken previously agreed language relating to gender and human rights language. Finally, there were decisions on guidelines for implementation of carbon markets proposed in Articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement. Carbon markets are not supported by most civil society voices at the COP29. They are essentially ‘carbon offsetting’ for high GHG emitters failing to sufficiently mitigate their own emissions. Carbon markets do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions ‘at source’, have a history of ineffectiveness, abuses of Indigenous Peoples and human rights, and fail to recognise increase of eco-system collapse under rising temperatures.
Quaker action at COP29
At the COP29 we prepared and translated toolkits for negotiators on the latest climate science, and booklets for grassroots action on ‘what we can do’. We distributed a briefing paper on the risks of geo-engineering reliance on carbon dioxide removal (CDR). We helped author an interfaith statement for the COP and helped plan and facilitate an interfaith Talanoa Dialogue with faith voices from around the world. We coordinated Quaker voices in global civil society demands for the COP Presidency to protect human rights in climate action. We co-hosted with Quakers in Britain and Quaker Earthcare Witness an official COP event titled, What Really Makes us Safe?, and in a COP Press Conference asked the same question before journalists: why do we beg for climate finance to support needed root cause transitions and help people experiencing loss and damage, while trillions are spent on weapons to oppress and kill? Throughout, we met with a diverse group of negotiators to talk through hopes and concerns, as part of our quiet diplomacy efforts here to build communication between countries.
We hold to Quaker testimonies as a clear witness to peace and justice. “Do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value.” As Quakers, we can bring vision to overcome fear. A vision of transformations which promote clean air, clean water and healthy wildlife, promote public transport, public health and education, promote clean and more equitably owned renewable energy, sustainable and just economic systems, more equitable societies, restorative agriculture and healthy diets. The story of Care for Creation – to walk cheerfully in this world, a witness to love not fear, to regeneration not destruction.
In collaboration with a number of Quaker and Interfaith organizations, QUNO co-hosted a side-event at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan discussing the theme: “What really makes us safe? Peace, climate finance and climate action in an existential time”. An expert panel involved the audience in a conversation touching on peaceful, healthy, sustainable and just climate finance and action to avert existential rates of global warming
The event was moderated by QUNO’s Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook. The panel featured an array of speakers from across the globe including the following experts:
Shirine Jurdi, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (Lebanon)
Deborah Burton, Tipping Point North South
Andrew Okem, IPCC (Head of Science of the IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit)
Lucy Plummer, Soka Gakkai International
Harriet Mackaill-Hill, International Alert
Duncan McLaren, UCLA Law School
The event was co-sponsored by Friends World Committee for Consultation, Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW), Soka Gakkai International – UK (SGI-UK), Soka Gakkai International Office for UN Affairs, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and Quakers in Britain.
It took place on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 6:30pm local time. A recording of the event was made by the UNFCCC and can be accessed on YouTube here.
The Friends World Committee on Consultation World Plenary took place in South Africa from August 5-12th this year. As part of the programming and testimony given by Friends globally, QUNO Geneva Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook, contributed personal reflection by video recording on the theme of ‘care for creation’. Lindsey’s powerful statement provides an overview of QUNO’s work on climate and its ties to deeply rooted Quaker values. Her call to action reflects Friends concerns for intergenerational equity and advocates for solutions that are globally just, addressing the root causes of a climate crisis based on imbalances of money and power.
QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme, speaking on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation, took part in the 61st Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July to 2nd of August. Our FWCC interventions and the IPCC Meeting summary are available to read here.
At this session, the panel had to decide on the programme of work for the 7th Assessment Cycle (AR7) and approve outlines of two IPCC products: the Methodology Report on Short Lived Climate Forcers and the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.
Since 2017, QUNO has been the only independent faith-based observer at the IPCC. At this session, QUNO made interventions to raise concerns over the failure to include military emissions in greenhouse gas inventory and the dangerous reliance on speculative technologies such as large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over transformation of root causes. QUNO also highlighted the need to ensure inclusivity and transparency, to uphold the integrity of science in the upcoming cycle, to focus on protecting the most vulnerable, and for discussions of the ‘cost’ of inaction to include cost to human lives and not just economic.
By the end of the session, the IPCC approved the two outlines for further work and delayed the decision on the programme of work to the next plenary session in late February of 2025.
In addition to advocacy at negotiations, QUNO also works to communicate IPCC findings to wider audiences to help empower urgent, transformative and equitable climate action. The latest related QUNO publications include a toolkit for Government Officials and a personal guide on what we can do. Both are available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.
The following links highlight Quaker led side events at international climate negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
SB60 – ‘How ethical values can guide more successful and effective NDC policies’
COP28 – ‘Shifting money and power: true transformational climate action as a peace and justice multiplier’
SB58 – ‘Truthful engagement in real, effective and ethical emission reductions for an ambitious GST’
COP27 – ‘Effective, ethical, and equitable climate action in the Arctic: the role of climate justice’
Quaker United Nations Office Geneva Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme attended the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai in November and December 2023. At COP28, the main challenges included delivery of an urgent, equitable and science based Global Stocktake, strengthening on just transition and mitigation efforts, and appropriate financing for adaptation and loss and damage.
