News - CIDSE & Caritas Press conference at the UN
New Climate Deal Needs Political & Moral Leadership
Press Conference by Catholic Development Agencies CIDSE & Caritas Internationalis in occasion of UN Summit on Climate Change
WHO:
- Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Elizabeth Peredo, Director of Fundación Solon, Bolivia
- Joseph Donnelly, Permanent Delegate to the UN for Caritas Internationalis
WHAT:
Church leaders and climate experts say the most vulnerable should no longer be sidelined in the climate talks and that world leaders need to attend Copenhagen
Today, in Bangladesh, a fisherman and his family have to leave their home because of the rising sea levels. Today, in Ethiopia, a smallholder farmer can’t feed her family as crops fail because of severe droughts. Today, a child born in the Brazilian rainforest has little chance to live as her ancestors did for centuries, because of rapid deforestation and changing rain patterns. Today, we jointly say it’s time for Climate Justice!
Cardinal Keith O’Brien from the UK and Head of the CIDSE - Caritas delegation to New York said: ““I am calling on Heads of States from the wealthy industrialised nations to show the moral and political leadership that is urgently needed if we are to prevent further unnecessary suffering for the poor, and to commit now to going to the Copenhagen Summit in December. Climate change is too important an issue for it to be swamped in political wrangling and preoccupied with national short term interests.”
Elyzabeth Peredo said: “I see the devastating impacts of climate change in my daily work. Take smallscale farmers in the high Andes; they struggle to survive as melting glaciers endanger their crop yields. I expect world leaders to give them and poor people around the globe a sign there is hope for a better future.”
CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis are together the largest humanitarian and development alliance in the world fighting poverty in over 200 countries. The CIDSE-Caritas Climate Justice delegation will present a joint statement to political leaders, asking them to commit to the Copenhagen climate summit as they have a moral duty to current and future generations to stop global warming and set all nations on a path to sustainable and equitable development.
WHEN: Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 3pm - 3.30pm
WHERE : United Nations Headquarters, Press Room S-226, 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, United States
CONTACT (in New York 20-24 Sept):
Roeland Scholtalbers scholtalbers@cidse.org +32 478962013
All speakers and other delegation members will be available for interviews afterwards and during the day. Please RSVP until 21 September. An online press pack outlines our activities during the NY°C Climate Week
Please see itinerary of the CIDSE-Caritas Climate Justice Delegation to NY, and a list of delegation members, below:
1) Itinerary:
20 September: Holy Mass for Climate Justice
Celebrated by the Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, Cardinal O'Brien and Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations. The mass is concelebrated by the bishops of our delegation in presence of celebrities. Photo-op after the mass.
Venue: Church of the Holy Family, also known as the United Nations parish, 5pm
21 September: Meeting with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
(Venue: EU Mission, New York, 11.30am)
Other highlights of the day:
- Meeting UK Secretary of State Energy & Climate Change Ed Miliband (UK mission, New York, 08.40am)
- Meeting with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer (United Nations Church Center, opposite the UN Headquarters, 11am)
Meeting with Bolivian delegation (Bolivian mission, 8.30am).- NYC Climate Week inauguration with NY Mayor Bloomberg, Tony Blair, and Ban Ki-moon. Participation of several delegation members. (Venue: TBC)
- Global Premiere ‘the Age of Stupid’ : with the presence of delegation members on the Green Carpet (World Financial Center, 7pm)
- CIDSE & Caritas panel discussion on adaptation technologies in the post-2012 Climate Agreement with participation of delegation members René Grotenhuis, Bishop Ramazzini, Janet Mangera and Nafisa D'Souza. (United Nations Church Center, opposite the UN Headquarters, 3pm)
22 September: UN Summit on Climate Change
(Venue: UN Headquarters)
The delegation will meet Heads of State and Government, as well as other government delegates and interested parties during, as well as before and after the Summit.
- Opening and closing ceremony with participation of Cardinal O’Brien, Paul Chitnis and Sergio Marelli
- Meeting with German Environment Minister Gabriel(German Mission, time tbc)
- Meeting with Polish Environment Minister Nowicki
(United Nations Church Center, opposite the UN Headquarters, 12pm) - Heads of State lunch with participation of Cardinal O’Brien
(UN Headquarters, 1pm) - Climate Justice Press conference at UN headquarters
(UN Headquarters, room S226, 3pm) - Meeting with Italian Secretary of State Scotti (venue tbc, 4pm)
- Meeting with Swedish EU presidency (Swedish mission, 6.30pm)
23 September:
- Religion for Peace: Panel of Religious Leaders with participation of delegation members
(Venue: British Consolate General, 9am) - Meeting with Portuguese Secretary of State for the Environment Rosa
(Portuguese mission, 11:15am) - GCCA/NGLS/ Swedish Mission roundtable moderated by Mary Robinson. Keynote speaker: Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson. With participation of Archbishop Onaiyekan
(Helmsley Hotel, New York, 3pm)
3) List of delegates (short biographies available here)
Bishops:
Cardinal Keith O’Brien (Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh; Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Gioacchino ed Anna al Tuscolano, Scotland); Archbishop John Onaiyekan (Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria); Bishop Theotonius Gomes (Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Dhaka, President of Caritas Bangladesh, Bangladesh); Bishop Alvaro L. Ramazzini (Bishop of San Marcos, Guatemala)
Southern climate experts:
Nafisa D'Souza (Executive Director of Laya Resource Centre, India); Elisabeth Peredo (Fundacion Sulon, Bolivia); Sister Delci Franzen ( Comissão Episcopal Pasto-ral para o Serviço da Caridade, Brazil); Janet Mangera (Executive Secretary, Caritas Kenya, Kenya)
CIDSE-Caritas leadership
René Grotenhuis (CIDSE president, Director Cordaid/Caritas Netherlands, the Netherlands); Bernd Nilles (CIDSE Secretary General, Germany); Jim Hug (Director Center of Concern, United States); Paul Chitnis (Director SCIAF/Caritas Scotland, Scotland); Josef Sayer (Director Misereor, Germany); Sergio Marelli (Director Volontari nel Mondo – FOCSIV, Italy); Joseph Donnelly (Permanent Delegate to the UN for Caritas Internationalis, United States)
CIDSE staff
Cliona Sharkey (Climate Change Policy Officer); Astrid Schwietering (Campaign Officer), Roeland Scholtalbers (Media Officer); Leah Campagna (Campaign Assistant)
