Light the way with prayers for Lima

The 20th COP on Climate Change is being convened right now in Lima, Peru, until 12th December. SAFCEI’s Lydia Mogano is attending the public sessions. She will be keeping us updated, so click here to follow her posts on the Earth Keeper Website. Lydia will also be working with a wide range of NGOs to help keep the focus on the need for real urgency, real co-operation and real commitment for change now.

Earth Keepers are joining the global call to people of faith to light a candle for Lima on Sunday 7th December and to pray for wise and courageous leadership at COP20. We want the world’s leaders to know that millions of us are holding their work in our thoughts, meditations and prayers. #LightforLIMA vigils have been scheduled in places on all the continents, and more are being confirmed. If you are able to organise a vigil, please do and help to extend the circle of prayer. Otherwise, please light a green candle yourself on Sunday 7th December. If you are planning a #LightForLIMA event, please inform Our Voices at ourvoices.net/lima. They will be adding your light and voice to others around the world so that the leaders at Lima get the measure of the scale of support for change. Also, please take a picture of your green candle and share it online with #LightForLIMA.

As you light your candle, you may want to offer a prayer, meditation or blessing. The Our Voice website has sample as prayers and songs from all the major faith communities.

We would like to share some good news. It appears that the world’s leaders have started listening! The climate march in September in New York was a game changer (click to read more). “Our citizens keep marching. We cannot pretend we do not hear them:” US President Obama. Subsequently, President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping have pledged in an agreement with each other to reduce their countries GHG emissions. China has agreed to cap its output by 2030, or earlier if possible, and has also promised to increase its use of energy from zero-emission sources to 20% by 2030. The United States has pledged to cut its emissions to 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. More good news comes from the European Union which endorsed a binding 40% GHG emissions reduction target by 2030. (Source: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/12/china-and-us-make-carbon-pledge)

The leaders at Lima will be aware that 10th December is the anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also know that Climate Change poses the biggest threat to human rights in history. Let’s create as much prayerful focus on 7th December as possible so that our leaders draw strength and commit their countries to real solutions. Let’s light the way for co-operation by the leaders of the global community to work together for a vibrant future for all life on Earth.

Article by Kim Kruyshaar for SAFCEI November 2014