Climate Action and Water for Life towards Creation Justice – a Faith Perspective

Because of My Faith – A Mobilization Workshop

You are warmly invited to our hybrid event on Friday, June 3, at 9:30am CEST,

"Because of My Faith – A Mobilization Workshop" will be led by Country Director Tagele Mathewos for YBCEDO, Ethiopia – LM International’s local partner.

For those physically able to attend, there will be a light breakfast served during the workshop.

Starting with an opening by Archbishop Thomas Schirrmacher, Secretary General of the WEA, the theological discussion of how the faith guides ecological protection and climate action will be framed.

The workshop will then be led by Tagele Matteows, with first-hand experience and impact of YBCEDO’s decades of climate action and civil society mobilisation work, and give practical insights on how bible scripture frames their climate action. Antonino Puglisi, from the Focolare movement, will round up the session, with time at the end for participant reflections and questions.

This session will help those in faith traditions better leverage faith literacy for accelerated change and climate action, in addition to using faith literacy for advocacy to attain rights and hold duty bearers accountable.

Please register here if you plan to be physically present.

Join here virtually on Microsoft Teams.

Regeneration[1] of nature and ecosystems, of social and community resilience and institutions of solidarity and delivery on the UN Decade of Action and Ecosystems Restoration; through reciprocity, between peoples and between people and nature; and recognition of the home that the planet provides to human and non-human, present and future generations alike, and the right and the need for a healthy planet and human environment.

Recovery[2] from COVID-19, from social and environmental and implementation deficits; from loss of jobs and income through skills-building opportunities, innovative financing, and social protection schemes.

Rebalance[3] of relations with other living species, of access and use of resources, energy, food, and materials, through reduction of wasteful production, consumption, and unequal footprints that derive from, and result in, unequal access to opportunities and income; through repurposing of agricultural, fossil fuel and fishery subsides, aligning finance with healthy planet actions.

Renewal[4] of multilateralism that is stronger, more networked, inclusive, and anchored within the United Nations; and of the social contract and interconnections between peoples, governments, civil society, children and youth, and the private sector looking to building opportunities to strengthen institutions in support of implementation.

Reimagine[5] a common future through listening and responding to the voices of current and future generations, the youth, indigenous peoples, those marginalized by a loss of resilience, and to the needs of non-human species on a fragile planet; and one that promotes a meaningful, diverse engagement of all stakeholders and is fit for purpose to address the inherent opportunities, responsibilities, and delivery of unrealized commitments.

[1] In support of Leadership Dialogue 1, below.

[2] In support of Leadership Dialogue 2, below.

[3] In support of Leadership Dialogue 2, below.

[4] In support of Leadership Dialogue 3, below.

[5] Through the visioning and perspectives of state and non-state actors.

The collaborative multi-stakeholder sessions during Stockholm+50 will take place in parallel to the plenaries and encourage participants to share their experience and examples. Each Leadership Dialogue will be presided over by two Co-Chairs, one from a developing country and one from a developed country, to be appointed by the two Presidents of the international meeting. Participants will be asked to share experiences and initiatives to protect our planet and a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leadership Dialogue 1, Thu, 3pm – 6pm

Reflecting on the urgent need for actions to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity of all, where aspirations and rights can be fulfilled and which focus on the need to live in harmony with nature, ecosystems restoration, including how we measure and define wealth and prosperity, and integrate human development and planetary pressures with a focus on gender equality, social equity, ecological security, innovation, lifestyles and youth. In short, this leadership dialogue will focus on transformative actions, moving beyond incremental change to systemic change, where the ambition is to redefine our relationship with nature by taking further steps to achieve net-zero carbon, nature-positive, and zero-pollution societies.

Leadership dialogue 2, Fri, 10am – 1pm

Achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on actions needed to recover and build forward from the pandemic and its adverse impacts on people, planet and prosperity; and to put the world back on track to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. This could be through a focus on sectors most affected by COVID-19, through rethinking financing, social protection schemes for the informal sector, policies for circularity and sustainable consumption and production, digitalization, where job creation, skills building, and capacity enhancement form a central part of the just transition for all countries and in particular for the poorest and most vulnerable. To summarize, this is where the short-term actions needed to recover and build forward from the pandemic are brought together to rebalance development to address inequity, wasteful consumption, unequal opportunity, and relations with nature, building on the various global ongoing global and regional processes of 2021/22.

Leadership dialogue 3, Fri, 2pm – 7pm

Accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of Sustainable Development in the context of the Decade of Action. This dialogue will focus on multi-level governance, institutions, multilateral frameworks, and commitments highlighting accountability, accessibility, and incentives necessary to go from commitment to action, focusing on showcasing concrete benefits at country level. It will focus on aligning private and public agendas, including financial, economic, normative, and others; thinking around global public goods; and where innovative financing and capacity building opportunities can be explored to strengthen institutions, human capabilities and the infrastructural foundation for a more equitable, resilient and sustainable transition to a healthier planet leaving no one behind. In short, this leadership space is about focussing on the means to implement commitments and actions, ensuring delivery on the 2030 Agenda, the Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and the national implementation plans of the emerging Global Biodiversity Framework through a renewed engagement with a multilateralism, that is inclusive and networked, and that works for all.

Date: 2-3 June 2022

Location: Stockholm/Sweden

Theme: "A healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity"

Debora Haede, Archbishop Dr Thomas Paul Schirrmacher, Matthias K. Boehning, Martin Warnecke

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