A Rocha France at COP26

What is COP26?

COP26, or the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, is an international conference organised by the United Nations. It will take place from 1 to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the 26th Conference of the Parties (hence the acronym: COP26), which brings together the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

What are the objectives of COP26?

Countries are asked to set “ambitious” targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to achieve “net zero”, i.e. not putting more into the atmosphere than is taken out, by 2050. Announcements will be made during COP26 by various countries. The aid promised by rich countries to poor countries will also be at the heart of the debates.

Why is A Rocha France involved?

Climate change is a major issue for the 21st century. In A Rocha we want to show that for us this issue is fundamental. We want to bear witness, as Christians, by attending, by praying, by participating in the debates, by lobbying (in the good sense of the word) for ambitious solutions to be adopted, and by helping to inform, raise awareness and mobilise Christians (in particular) in France.

A Rocha is involved in the conference in several ways

There will be 13 staff members representing A Rocha UK, Ghana, France, Canada, and Climate Stewards. A Rocha Ghana and UK have exhibition stands and others will be networking, reporting out, and seeing how they might influence outcomes, especially around the issues of nature-based solutions to climate change.

• In the ‘blue zone’ we will have observer status. We will seek to influence the decisions that are taken. In particular, we will try to promote ‘nature-based solutions’.
• In the green zone, we will organise a stand (on 8 November) and several other activities
• In the rest of the city, A Rocha will be organising or participating in a number of events in collaboration with other Christian partner organisations. A Rocha UK will be holding a concert on the evening of 11 November.
• Throughout COP26 we will be dedicating our daily ‘Prayer for Creation‘ (free subscription) to the COP and the climate.
• Last but not least, half a dozen A Rocha France Ambassadors and one Green Church Ambassador will be present in Glasgow.
• On Wednesday 10 November, we will be giving a conference to give an update on the mobilisation on the ground, to share and pray with those who wish to do so and to answer questions. This conference will take place via zoom live from Glasgow (Wednesday 10 November, 20h30 French time – zoom link).
• We will write articles and participate in interviews on different Christian media throughout the conference. The aim is to inform and mobilise Christians in France about the challenges of climate change.
• Links will be added to this page as articles or podcasts are published during the conference.
• More information will be published on this page in the coming weeks. To be continued…