Sisters on Holy Ground: beyond COP27

24/11/2022

News

As a follow-up of a widely discussed COP27 Summit, which took place from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, UISG together with Sisters Advocating Globally organized a webinar entitled “Sisters on Holy Ground: beyond COP27”. The event took place on November 22 and gathered more than 125 participants, giving them a possibility of listening to the first-hand testimonies of the Sisters present at the Conference.

The first speaker, sr. Claudine Dumbi, Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, talked about the engagement of the youth and people with disabilities from Africa during the COP27. As of the results of the conference, she said: “Everyone is aware that the world must act, this is an emergency. But the problem, that I saw during the negotiations, was: how do we do it? Nevertheless, we see that we are moving a little bit forward.”

Sr. Paola Moggi, Comboni Missionary Sister, one of the Vivat delegates at COP27, views the Summit as an “another lost opportunity”. In Sharm El-Sheikh, she saw, as she describes, two worlds: one of the big business, where the profits are in the center, and another one, represented by the members of the civil society, working tirelessly to implement change. “My biggest discovery at COP27 was to experience the importance of spirituality. And to me the true heros of spirituality during this event were the indigenous people, even more indigenous women, and their impressive ability to connect the past and future generations. “

Sr. Durstyne Farnan, OP opened her reflection by thanking for a much needed support in prayers and notes during the Summit. She also talked about the importance of the loss and damage deal: “The establishment of loss and damage finance as a true pillar for climate action must be formalized. All modes of such finance must be designed so that they do not further prolong injustices, bring on more economic and non-economic losses and damages nor add burden to the most vulnerable countries and communities that worsen existing systemic issues.”, she said.

Sr. Ernestine Lalao, member of the Good Shepherd congregation, went to COP27 as the representative of her congregation and of the Malgasy government. “My experience at COP27 was extraordinary. I felt like everyone present had a voice.” She also described how she is witnessing the effects of the climate change in her own country, Madagascar, affecting especially women and children. “We are all called to solidarity and responsibility, starting with ourselves.”

In the closing words, sr. Sheila Kinsey, from Sowing Hope for the Planet, encouraged everyone to keep acting for the environment and to follow the upcoming United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP15, which will take place from 7-19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

Read the statement "Sisters for the Environment: Intergating Voices from the Margins"

Read the article on the Catholic News Service