Photo credit: Interfaith and Climate Change website - see https://interfaith-climate.com/?p=5904

On the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and ahead of COP30 in Brazil, the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP/RfP) Japan Committee and the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC), supported by Religions for Peace Australia, gathered at today’s “Climate Crisis Learning Forum 2025 – Religious Gathering toward COP30,” issue this joint statement.

Please find here the full statement as a PDF with logos.

First and foremost, we find great hope in the achievements of the people of Brazil, the host country, in protecting the tropical rainforest in recent years. According to the Brazilian government, in 2023 the rate of deforestation decreased by more than 30% compared with the previous year. We wish to join the international community in expressing our deep respect for the sincere efforts and the remarkable results achieved by the people of Brazil.

Since 2015, the international community has strengthened climate action through attempts at mobilizing global action toward low-carbon and resilient societies, strong leadership by the UN Secretary-General for climate action, and raising visibility of action and results through the engagement of new partners. Yet, none of these have produced truly decisive effects. Instead, the world has entered what is now being called an “era of global boiling.” We are facing massive wildfires, higher sea temperatures, concentrated torrential rains, catastrophic floods, rapid snowmelt, and in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) the loss of land and forced migration due to rising sea levels.

Most severely affected are developing countries, Indigenous peoples, and vulnerable communities, who face existential threats, losing not only their livelihoods but even their homes. The damage extends beyond human society. In Australia, prolonged drought and record heat caused bushfires that killed an estimated one billion wild animals and released more than 400 million tons of CO₂. This disaster, remembered as the “Black Summer,” accelerated global warming. Such examples are countless.

The root cause of climate change lies in the abnormal accumulation of greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide—emitted by human activities. This reflects excessive self- and nation-centeredness, the mindset that “as long as I or my country prosper, it is enough,” which undermines multilateral cooperation in international society. Further, excessive production, consumption, and the pursuit of profit through disposability have created the widest economic disparity in history, entrenched poverty in the Global South, and worsened environmental degradation. Those who suffer most are the people of the Global South—who historically used little fossil fuel—and future generations who are not even present today.

Excessive production of liquified natural gas (LNG) is specifically problematic. No longer seen by scientists as a “transition fuel”, when fugitive emissions and the need to freeze and transport it are taken into account, gas is at least as bad as other fossil fuels.

Furthermore, under the pretext of national energy security but also for corporate profit, Japanese companies exploit sacred Indigenous lands and natural environments in Australia to extract natural gas. The process itself aggravates the climate crisis, even as Australia is considered a potential co-host for COP31.

The Missing in Action report, authored by former senior officials of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Department of Defence, states that global warming is “the greatest security threat facing Australia.”

As people of faith, standing in the traditions that honour all life, we express our deep concern for the climate crisis confronting Earth today. Climate change is not merely an environmental issue but an ethical challenge for humanity as a whole, and a matter of responsibility toward future generations.

For many religious traditions, Earth is a sacred community of life, in which we are all interdependent. As Pope Francis expressed in his encyclical “Laudato Si’”, a message of hope to the world: “The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.” (para 23) Likewise Eastern religious wisdom teaches that all life is equally precious, each with its unique nature. This applies not only to humans but also to plants. Indigenous vegetation, rooted for generations, anchors the soil and retains water. Even deserts can be revitalized if planted with flora suited to the land.

Since life itself is nurtured by nature, nature may rightly be called the mother of humanity. What is now required is a perspective that respects nature not as a resource to be exploited but as a neighbour with whom we live.

From this conviction, we offer the following urgent proposals to the parties of COP30 for the sustainability of the Earth and humankind:

• Global climate measures are far off track. They must go beyond political slogans, specifying clearly who will implement which reduction measures, and by when, ensuring effectiveness.

• Nations must abandon narrow nationalism and the pursuit of excessive profit, and unite for the common good of all humanity.

• Countries with the greatest responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO₂, must provide fair financial contributions and technology transfers, and effectively address “loss and damage.”

• The Government of Japan must end its reliance on LNG imports that cause environmental destruction, and instead shift toward sustainability through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the expansion of storage technologies. Japan must stop re-exporting LNG and end the financing of gas infrastructure in Australia and Southeast Asia.

• The Australian Government must stop approving new gas projects. An International Energy Agency Report stated that new projects are incompatible with the goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2050.

• Transformations in our individual lifestyles are also essential. The religious values of knowing sufficiency, sharing, and reverence for life must be concretely practised in daily consumption, energy use, and diets.

Together, across different religions and traditions, we will listen to the diverse voices of youth, women, and Indigenous peoples, and carry their cries to the international community. We will never give up nurturing intergenerational solidarity to protect our shared planet.

Finally, we express hope. The climate crisis is not only a grave trial but also an opportunity for humanity to move toward a life of simplicity and richness and a culture in harmony with nature. To honour life and pass on a sustainable Earth to future generations, we earnestly call on all those gathered at COP30 to make courageous decisions.

As religious leaders of Japan and Australia, we declare our determination to walk this path together and to continue acting.