Toni Anne Hendricks, a youth researcher in the Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, Mona and climate advocate from the Moravian Church in Jamaica and member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation, presented an interfaith call to action at the High-Level Ministerial Segment of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on 18 November, urging ambitious action on emissions, finance, and just transition.

Speaking on behalf of faith-based organisations, Hendricks told world leaders that faith communities "hold no self-interest in global climate action" and that their "advocacy is for all life on Earth."

She noted that "only 10% of the world's population has been responsible for roughly two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions since 1990." Those most responsible must lead in reducing emissions and providing financial resources for a just transition, she said.

Hendricks connected the debt and climate crises. "Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on servicing debt than on responding to the climate emergency," she said. She warned that "the debt crisis intensifies the climate crisis, and the climate crisis worsens the debt crisis."

A decade after the Paris Agreement, faith communities "stand firmly for our planet, for the most vulnerable, and for future generations of every species." They are united by "the moral teachings of our traditions, which together call us to work for climate justice."

Religious leaders asked COP30 to "build trust and secure that all climate actions are founded on equity and human rights, including gender equity and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights." They urged countries to submit ambitious nationally determined contributions in line with climate science. They also called for climate finance to reach 1.3 trillion US dollars yearly.

Faith groups pressed for the adoption of a Just Transition Work Programme. They also called for the phase-out of fossil fuels through the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Photo Caption: Toni Anne Hendricks, a youth researcher and climate advocate from the Moravian Church in Jamaica and member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation, presented an interfaith call to action at the High-Level Ministerial Segment of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on 18 November, urging ambitious action on emissions, finance, and just transition.