A conversation with climate witnesses at the Kirchentag

“The global climate crisis concerns all of us”

(LWI) – During the Kirchentag in Hanover, Germany, one of the events dedicated to international politics was a panel discussion titled “When your homeland becomes uninhabitable – A conversation with climate witnesses.” The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Head of Global Advocacy, Isaiah Toroitich, moderated the discussion which was organized by the development agency Brot für die Welt, one of the LWF’s long-standing German partners.

Witnesses speaking for the Global South were Dr Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) from Kenya, and Hamira Kobusingye, founder of Climate Justice Africa, from Uganda.

Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment, and Nature of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, presented perspectives from the Global North.

Bishop Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, LWF Vice-President for Central Western Europe, contributed theological considerations of the care for creation and climate justice.

Considering migration, skills shortages, and climate policy holistically

A keynote address presented by Dr Kira Vinke, Head of the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) preceded the panel discussion.

Vinke pointed out the connection between climate change, migration, and the increasing uninhabitability of certain regions. She showed how environmental changes such as extreme weather, rising sea levels, and resource scarcity influence migration decisions and how political, social, and economic factors play a role in this.