Cardinal Ferrao Presents Document for Climate Justice Ahead of COP30

VATICAN CITY, July 1, 2025: Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), on Tuesday, July 1, called for urgent climate justice and ecological conversion during a press conference held at the Holy See Press Office. The cardinal was addressing reporters after presenting a document titled “A Call for Climate Justice and Our Common Home: Ecological Conversion, Transformation, and Resistance to False Solutions”. The document outlines a collective pastoral appeal for global ecological responsibility, warning against policies that treat the planet as a mere commodity.

Before the press conference, a copy of the document was presented to Pope Leo XIV by Cardinal Ferrao and his counterparts from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America during a private audience. During the meeting, Cardinal Ferrao also presented the Pope, who is a member of the Augustinian order, with a replica of the historic Tower of St. Augustine at Old Goa.

The document presented during the press conference is a collaborative initiative of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa (SECAM), Asia (FABC), and Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAM), coordinated by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL). It was released in preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference COP30, scheduled for November in Brazil.

During the press conference, Cardinal Ferrao emphasised that the message of the document is not political but moral and spiritual. “Our message today is not diplomatic; it is pastoral. It is a call to conscience in the face of a system that threatens to devour creation,” he stated. He further highlighted that Asia, like many regions in the Global South, is already experiencing the devastating effects of climate change — including typhoons, rising sea levels, and river pollution — while false solutions, such as exploitative “clean” energy projects, continue to displace vulnerable communities.

Calling for structural reform, Cardinal Ferrao urged developed nations to acknowledge their ecological and social debt to the Global South. 

“We call for fair and accessible climate finance for local communities, including women, that does not generate more debt,” he said. The cardinal further demanded the immediate operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund and the Adaptation Fund to build resilience in affected communities. Stressing the importance of local wisdom, he said, “Stop the expansion of fossil fuels; expand renewable energy solutions in consultation with communities. Rich countries must pay their ecological debt without indebting the South further.”

Cardinal Ferrao also underscored the Church’s role in offering constructive alternatives, including educational programmes, circular economies, ecological spirituality, and interreligious cooperation to defend life and dignity. “We want COP30 to be not just another event but a moral turning point,” Cardinal Ferrao concluded. “As Pope Leo XIV said, we need love and unity to build a new world where peace reigns. May hope flourish among us like a tree of life.”

By Catholic Connect Reporter