06 April 2021
A youth-led campaign calling on the global Methodist family to take climate action in the run up to the UN’s COP26 is launched today by a group of workers from Uruguay, Britain, Italy, Zambia and Fiji.
‘Climate Justice for All’ (CJ4A for short) is a campaign which invites Methodist communities all over the world to engage in the issue of the climate crisis and declare ‘we believe in climate justice for all’.
“The message of the campaign, ‘we believe in climate justice for all’, is so important because as Methodist people we want to remember John Wesley’s declaration that God’s love was for all and we wanted to make clear that when we seek climate justice it is not just for a small number of individuals but for all.” Camila Ferreiro, Uruguayan CJ4A Worker.
“We believe that, for climate justice for all to be a reality, communities on the front lines of the climate crisis need to be equipped with the right resources and there also needs to be fairness through the highest emitters being the most ambitious in reducing their carbon usage to net zero.” James Appleby, British CJ4A Worker.
The campaign is asking Methodist communities to do three things in the run up to COP26: listen, call and commit.
“First we will listen because as a team we realized that telling our own stories and listening to others was an important tool for learning about and responding to the effects of the climate crisis. Second, we will call because we knew that it was not enough to just talk about climate justice within our Methodist communities but take that message out to our political representatives. Third, we will commit because it ensures that, as communities make personal commitments to enact change within their own contexts, the work of the campaign is sustained after the COP and change is truly embedded in the lives of Methodist communities.” Iemaima Vaai, Fijian CJ4A Worker.
As part of the campaign, CJ4A are releasing monthly short films and worship resources to help tell the stories of Methodist communities who are taking action for the planet.
“This campaign is especially exciting because it offers the global Methodist family the chance to take climate action together by listening to and learning from one another about how to best care for the planet that we all share.” Irene Abra, Italian CJ4A Worker.
As well as workers from five different countries, CJ4A has a volunteer network from fifteen other countries including Russia, India, Argentina, Zimbabwe and the USA.
“We have a brilliant opportunity to model the kind of global working we wish to see our leaders at COP26 doing.” Mollie Pugmire, British CJ4A Worker.
COP26 is the United Nation’s annual Climate Change Conference which is set to be held in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021.
To check out this month’s short film and worship resources and to find out more about CJ4A, visit their website and social media accounts.
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Notes for Editors
Links to our social media accounts:
Website: https://worldmethodistcouncil.org/cj4a/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatejustice4all/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CJ4All
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateJust4All
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg1kqmLvWxwVP3HEiUwqS8