Climate experts from all over the world meet in Wuppertal

They come from Uruguay, Indonesia, Palestine, Malawi, the USA or Sweden: 30 church experts on climate change from all over the world meet from May 12th to 16th in Wuppertal. The Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will come together on invitation of the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) to discuss on joint strategies and projects to show churches engagement in saving the climate. The group will also visit the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the Evangelical Church in the Rheinland under the theme of „pilgrimage in action“ and learn about their projects on environmental protection. The participants will also have a discussion in the “Wuppertal-Institut for Climate, Environment and Energy” about the transformation of the German energy sector and visit a soft coal opencast mining pit in the Rhenish lignite mining region. The Climate Working group exists for more than 20 years as an advisory body for the WCC: The UEM as an associated member of WCC supports the council’s efforts for a worldwide binding climate agreement to limit the consequences of the climate change like droughts and floods, under which especially poor people in developing countries suffer. Dr Jochen Motte, Deputy General Secretary of UEM and responsible for the UEM programme on climate and environmental protection, criticises the complete failure of the international community to have not achieved such a agreement despite of year long discussions. All the more it is important that the WCC and its members insist on keeping this issue on the political agenda, Motte says. One step in this direction is the pilgrimage toward justice and peace, initiated by the WCC General Assembly in November 2013. The UEM is for the first time hosting an official WCC meeting.