25 November
From 28 November to 9 December Durban, South Africa, will play host to the next round of UN climate talks.
These negotiations are the best opportunity available to obtain meaningful global action on climate change and its negative impacts on the poorest communities.
The location holds particular significance. Many countries in Africa are now facing increasingly erratic weather and changes to the seasons. East Africa has been especially hard hit, with more than 12 million people facing severe food and water shortages after the most extreme drought for decades in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. Since crop yields are dependent on temperature and rainfall patterns, climate change has played a big part in this crisis.
The climate summit offers an opportunity for governments and leaders to unite to find solutions to a worldwide problem. Tearfund will be attending along with some of our African partners to speak on behalf of the global church. We will be lobbying on lots of different issues, but some of them include:
Emission cuts: calling on developed countries to agree to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from 2012.
Money: asking rich countries to keep their promise of delivering $100 billion each year by 2020 by supporting new ways to generate climate finance.
- Please pray for progress towards the fair and ambitious action needed to protect people in poor communities who are hit hardest by the changing climate.
- Pray for the UK government to show leadership during the climate talks to fight for action on this issue.
Pray that Tearfund’s lobbying goals will be met with responsive ears and that real, meaningful change can be achieved.