Washington: As the world prepares for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, from November 10–21, 2025, U.S. bishops and Catholic leaders are extending prayers of support and solidarity to world leaders, urging decisive action to protect the planet and its people.
The conference, which will bring together heads of state, scientists, and civil society representatives, aims to forge actionable solutions to the climate crisis and advance national strategies for environmental stewardship. In a statement released on November 4, Archbishop Borys Gudziak (chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development), Bishop A. Elias Zaidan (chair of the Committee on International Justice and Peace), and Sean Callahan, CEO of Catholic Relief Services, called for “urgent, courageous action to safeguard God’s creation and humanity.”
Highlighting the spiritual significance of the moment, the leaders noted that COP30 coincides with the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope, describing it as “a sacred opportunity to heal relationships and restore creation amid profound threats to life.” Quoting Pope Leo XIV, they emphasized that participants are called to “listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, Indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants, and believers around the world.”
The statement underscored the severe human and ecological consequences of climate change: “Communities already burdened by poverty face intensifying hardships. Farmers and fisherfolk confront threats to livelihoods, Indigenous peoples risk losing ancestral lands, and children’s health and futures are increasingly imperiled.”
Referencing Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the leaders reminded that the climate is a shared good, intended for all generations, and that intergenerational solidarity is a moral imperative. “Neglecting our responsibility to steward God’s creation undermines our shared duty as one human family,” the statement added.
The U.S. Catholic leaders called for bold action to fully implement the Paris Agreement, the 2015 international treaty aimed at limiting global warming. They urged nations and civil society to recommit to strategies that:
• Promote sustainable economic opportunities
• Reduce climate-warming emissions
• Provide loss and damage financing directly benefiting vulnerable communities
• Ensure a just transition to a sustainable economy centered on workers, communities, and creation
• Deliver timely, transparent climate financing while upholding human dignity
“Climate change affects us all, and so must responsibility be shared by all,” the leaders concluded. “Through collective, faithful action, we can pursue integral ecology and prioritize the needs of the poor and marginalized in every step of the transition.”