Is COP30 in the Amazon ready to seriously address climate justice?
As COP30 opens in the Amazonian city of Belém, the world’s attention turns once again to the promises, and the persistent shortcomings, of global climate negotiations. With climate disasters intensifying, inequalities deepening and financial pledges left unfulfilled, Caritas Internationalis arrives in Belém with a clear message: the time for rhetoric is over. Climate justice demands moral courage, genuine accountability and a financial system that recognises ecological debt.
Over 22 Caritas member organisations are present at the COP30 to advocate for human dignity, equitable finance systems and a people-centred transition in the run for carbon neutrality. The Caritas Internationalis delegation is led by the Secretary General, Alistair Dutton, and Musamba Mubanga-Mtonga, Senior Advocacy Officer-Food Security and Climate Change. A short outline of the Caritas confederation expectations is available here.
This COP (Conference of the Parties) coincides with two powerful milestones: the Jubilee Year and the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’s encyclical calling humanity to care for “our common home.” These anniversaries frame Caritas’ presence and collaboration with other faith-based organisations and Church leaders.
A highlight of Caritas Internationalis engagement in Belém is the official COP30 side event “The Moral Imperative of Climate Finance: Addressing Ecological Debt in a Jubilee Year”, held on Tuesday 11 November (11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Side Event Room 5). Co-organised with CAFOD, CRS, the Debt and Climate Working Group and Living Laudato Si’ Philippines, the session explores how faith-based ethics and economic justice can guide a new era of climate finance, integrating nature and climate risk into debt-sustainability frameworks.
The discussion will connect ethical imperatives with the lived experience of the Global South, amplifying voices too often excluded from the negotiating tables.
On 4 November, at a preparatory meeting hosted at Caritas Internationalis Secretariat in Rome, the Brazilian Ambassador to the Holy See, Everton Vieira Vargas, underscored Brazil’s commitment to climate leadership and the protection of the Amazon. He announced the creation of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, highlighting the region’s pivotal role in global climate resilience.
“We cannot win the fight against climate change without protecting our forests. They are not just carbon sinks, they are homes, livelihoods and vital ecosystems. The Amazon must be a symbol of hope, not of loss”.
Everton Vieira Vargas, Brazilian Ambassador to the Holy See
Working closely with its national network, Caritas Brasil has developed a diverse programme of activities in collaboration with Catholic organisations and the Church throughout COP30 and the People’s Summit. These include public dialogues, cultural encounters, and workshops that highlight the role of faith in ecological transformation and amplify grassroots voices from the Amazon and beyond. This is the link to the full programme and press kit by Caritas Brasil.
Guided by the reflection of Pope Leo XIV: “God will ask us whether we have cared for the world He created, and for our brothers and sisters within it. What will our answer be?”, Caritas believes that climate justice is not optional; it is a test for us all.
By Susan Dabbous, Caritas Internationalis Editorial and Media Officer