AFAN-CJ joins faith actors in push for climate justice at COP30

The African Faith Actors Network for Climate Justice (AFAN-CJ) has joined in calls for climate justice, especially for grassroots communities at the frontline of the climate crisis.

Represented by the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) leadership and its secretariat, as well as the AFAN-CJ leadership, the delegation to COP30, upon arrival in Belem, Brazil, emphasized the need for serious action, and not just mere pledges cum commitments that have been synonymous with previous COPs, followed by evident delaying tactics instead of implementation. The COP30 runs from 10 to 21 November 2025.

In its message to the COP negotiations, the AFAN-CJ sought faster operationalization of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, adding that evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as well as other scientific studies had projected escalating frequency and intensity of disasters that were likely to worsen the humanitarian crises. The AFAN-CJ emphasized that no response should be profit-driven, as that would defeat the purpose.

The AFAN-CJ delegation, led by the AACC Vice President for Central Africa, Madame Victoire BOUBA and the network’s Vice Chairperson, Sheikh Dr Hassan Kinyua Omari, the AFAN-CJ said genuine action must be geared towards mitigation, and resilience, hence the need for response with grants, and not loans.

The AFAN-CJ said Loss and Damage features prominently in its advocacy because it touches on the most vulnerable, human survival and the future of Africa. Besides, the AFAN-CJ leadership asked for more involvement of faith-based organization, whose understanding of the environment they live in and the moral leadership they offer can be the desired shot in the arm for locally-led climate action.

“We must recognize the moral authority that religious institutions and community leaders wield in conservation of our environment and in provision of potential solutions to the current climate crisis,” said Dr Tinashe Gumbo, the Program Executive, Ecological Justice. This message was echoed by Sheikh Kinyua Omari during several sessions that AFAN-CJ attended on the second day of COP30.

The AFAN-CJ continues to call for more accountability and integrity in climate action, with maximum transparency in climate finance and general support to vulnerable communities.  

The AFAN-CJ’s main aim is to humanize the conversation at Belem and make it as relevant and applicable to Africa as possible for a more effective global response. “We know that faith without action is null. We want the COP30 to deliver measurable climate action, not mere lip service from the most responsible,” said Dr Tinashe.

In the photo: Sheikh Dr Hassan Kinyua Omari and other speakers at a session that focused on climate change, gender, and disability organized by Action Aid and other partners. [Courtesy: Dr. Tinashe Gumbo]