Caritas joins Copenhagen climate justice march

Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Lesley Anne Knight
was one of the marchers in Copenhagen

At least 100,000 people took to the streets of Copenhagen to march for climate justice on Saturday.

They marched from Parliament Square to the Bella Centre, where government negotiators are discussing a new deal to tackle climate change.

Caritas and CIDSE staff, supporters and volunteers from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Zambia, El Salvador, and many other countries joined the protest with placards and a huge balloon.

Sam Mulafulafu, Director of Caritas Zambia, was on the march. He said, “I’m here to put pressure on governments to come up with more concrete decisions on reducing carbon emissions.

“This has been delayed too long. Copengahen is the culmination of all our campaigns. No more speeches, we want action.

“Climate change is a daily experience in Zambia. Compared to the past, our rain comes too little or too much and it comes at unpredictable times. For a country dependent on farming, this causes a lot of suffering.”

Sr Aine Hughes of Caritas South Africa said, “I’m here to support the poor of the south, and hopefully have their issues taken into consideration, particularly around mitigation and getting appropriate technology to provide food security.

Jann Sjursen of Caritas Denmark said, “It’s great to have that many Caritas organisations here. It shows that Caritas is making a difference world wide.

The demonstration came the day before an ecumenical ceremony in Copengahen’s Cathedral. It marks the midday point in negotiations. Now, the UN summit enters the home straight with more than 100 world leaders arriving to finalise a deal.

A draft text released on Friday proposes industrialised countries will bare most of the burden for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but fails to indicate how much money rich countries will give poor ones to tackle global warming.

As the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen comes to a close, take the time to read Caritas Internationalis' climate change paper. The Caritas network advocates for worldwide solidarity to find sustainable solutions to the effects of climate change. By incorporating the ethical, moral and theological dimensions of the climate change crisis, we are addressing climate change at a broader level than just scientific and economic arguments.
Learn how we are Seeking a Global Ethic »»