Faith Leaders Gather at UN Climate Conference

COP25 – Day 1

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MADRID, Spain, Dec. 2, 2019 – This week I am blessed to be in Madrid, Spain with my colleagues from Texas Impact and the Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy at COP25, the United Nations Climate Conference.  With my wife Robin, we left Dallas late on Saturday night and arrived in a rainy and cold Madrid at 12:30 pm Sunday afternoon.

After getting a taxi to our apartment for the week, we dropped our luggage and immediately went to IFEMA, the very large conference center here in Madrid for conference registration.  Immediately after getting our credentials and conference ID badges, we taxied to Iglesia Evangelica Espanola for a meeting and small group discussion with other faith community delegates.  Attending from our delegation were Erica Nelson and our videographer Rob Moorhead.

The small group that Robin and I participated in dealt with loss and damage.  Our group came to the conclusion that no matter where we are from, whatever our racial or social or economic status, we are all interconnected and our failure to recognize this will lead to further destruction of God’s creation rather than reconciliation with and caring for all that God has made.  We concluded our evening’s meeting with an Interfaith Worship service and dinner. On our way back to our apartments, we ended up taking the wrong train and got very lost. We ultimately made it home, albeit very late and very wet.

Monday, Dec. 2 began with the opening plenary at IFEMA.  Our entire delegation attended: Bee Moorhead and Erica Nelson of the Texas Impact staff; myself, a Texas Impact board member and my wife Robin; Danielle Ayers of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas; and Rev. Susan Hendershot, national president of Interfaith Power and Light.

25,000 delegates and observers

With approximately 25,000 delegates and observers from nearly every country in the world attending, the logistics of an enterprise such as COP25 are truly staggering. IFEMA is a very large convention facility of multiple buildings. Even so, not all the attendees could possibly fit into one room, hence we had to watch a live stream of the opening session in a cavernous overflow room.  And, because this event was originally scheduled to be in Santiago, Chile, until civil turmoil in that country forced cancellation one month ago, that it is happening at all, much less as well organized as it is, truly staggers the imagination.

After the Opening Plenary, we began to go in many different directions as we tried to attend as many of the breakout sessions as possible.  Unfortunately, the size and scope of a COP meeting precluded even this. 

COP stands for “Conference of the Parties.” The “parties” are the 197 nations that have agreed to work together to address climate change. The USA is a party: even if the United States completely withdraws from the Paris Agreement, it will still be a party in the COP, because the Paris Agreement is just one of many climate-related agreements. The United States Department of State does have an official delegation at COP this year. And this afternoon there was an incredible press conference with a delegation of United States legislators. Unfortunately, there was no representation from the Republican members of Congress, only Democrats, at the most important global climate event of the year.  The delegation was led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, among others. This press conference was part of Bee Moorhead’s live stream this afternoon, and I encourage you to watch it.

This afternoon there was an incredible press conference with a delegation of U.S. legislators. Unfortunately, there was no representation from the Republican members of Congress, only Democrats, at the most important global climate event of the year. The delegation was led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Texas’ own Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, among others.

Later, several of our delegation went to a side event on “Political Issues of Immigration Migration.” From this session came the reality that neither climate nor environment are legal statuses for refugees or asylum seekers to claim.  This poses a definite problem for those persons displaced by climate change and related events.

Our first day at COP25 was very busy and informative. The size and scope of an event such as this can be initially daunting, but the issues and information, the connections made and the ideas exchanged certainly make it all worthwhile.

Some personal reflections from Robin first.  She was encouraged to hear words of hope expressed by the leaders of COP in the midst of crisis.  We heard UN Secretary General António Guterres speak of the need to mend the disconnect between the scientific community and the realities of dealing with climate change. It was extremely gratifying to hear our congressional leaders affirm that America will continue to be engaged with the other nations in the COP process.

Committed to acting on climate change

I echo those comments and add that it was also encouraging to be able to spend a few minutes after the Congressional press conference speaking with Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Also, several of our colleagues had the opportunity to speak at length with Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.  I was encouraged that the U.S. House and its leaders are committed to acting on climate change in the midst of a busy legislative agenda filled with many other important issues.

This afternoon I spent time in the exhibit hall.  There are many exhibits from countries, coalitions of countries, as well as non-governmental organizations from around the world. Many of the exhibits have their own venues where they host speakers and panels on topics related to their geographic location and/or climate issues and how they are dealing with them.  The diversity of issues and solutions is extensive.

In closing today, I would like to leave you with this prayer:

Creator God, you have brought us from all around the world which you created to gather together as we seek new ways to protect your creation from the actions of our fellow humans which threaten its and our own very existence.  Guide us in these days ahead that all we do, and all we discuss, and all our thoughts will be guided by you, our Creator God.  In your Holy name we pray, Amen.

The Rev. Mel Caraway, a retired clergy member of the North Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, is a United Methodist EarthKeeper, an environmental mission program affiliated with the General Board of Global Ministries. His reports are adapted with permission from his blog on the Texas Impact website. United Methodist Insight participates in Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration founded by the Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation magazine to strengthen coverage of the climate story.