International

ORCIE has proudly joined three major Catholic and civil society sign-on statements at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and we invite our member congregations to add their voices to this collective witness.

🌍 ORCIE at COP30: Standing Together for Climate Justice

This November, ORCIE participated as part of the civil society delegation at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, representing Religious Congregations. Our presence was rooted in our mission of integral ecology and solidarity with those most affected by the climate crisis. Alongside global partners, we signed onto three significant faith and civil society declarations that amplify the moral call for ecological conversion and climate justice.

1. From Belém, a Global Synodal Voice for Ecological Conversion (CIDSE)

This statement emerged from days of dialogue, prayer, and solidarity among bishops, cardinals, religious orders, and Catholic organizations at COP30. It calls for a renewed commitment to ecological conversion, echoing Pope Francis’ vision in Laudato Si’. The declaration emphasizes walking together in synodality, listening to the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” and standing with marginalized communities—women, youth, migrants, and Indigenous peoples—who bear the heaviest burdens of climate change. Learn more here: From Belém, a global synodal voice for ecological conversion – CIDSE

2. Civil Society Equity Review 2025

Endorsed by nearly 350 organizations worldwide, this review underscores the urgent need for equity and fairness in the global climate framework. It critiques the insufficiency of current national commitments (NDCs) and emphasizes the central role of climate finance, just mitigation, and fair shares among nations.

By signing, ORCIE joins a broad coalition demanding that the Global North meet its fair share of responsibilities in the climate crisis, rather than continuing to place a disproportionate burden on the Global South through inadequate finance and mitigation efforts. The review calls for transformative changes in global governance, economic systems, and fossil fuel dependency to confront the root causes of climate inaction—deeply tied to historical injustices and extreme inequality.

👉 We encourage congregations to sign as organizations, strengthening the moral demand for equity in climate policy. 🔗 Learn more and sign on: Civil Society Equity Review 2025

3. Religious Life for Climate Justice: Turning Hope into Action (EcoJesuit)

This campaign statement and policy brief unite religious congregations worldwide in urgent advocacy. It calls for debt cancellation, strengthening the Loss and Damage Fund, advancing a just energy transition, and promoting sustainable food systems rooted in agroecology. Inspired by Laudato Si’, it frames climate justice as both a social and ecological imperative. Already, hundreds of congregations have endorsed this campaign, amplifying the prophetic voice of religious life at COP30 and beyond.
👉 We invite our member congregations to sign on, adding weight to this collective moral witness. 🔗 Learn more and sign on: Religious Life for Climate Justice: Turning Hope Into Action – Ecology and Jesuits in Communication

✨ Invitation to Our Member Congregations

By signing these declarations, ORCIE has joined a global chorus of faith and civil society voices calling for justice, solidarity, and ecological conversion. We now invite our member congregations to sign on as congregations to these initiatives. Doing so will:

• Strengthen the collective Catholic and ecumenical witness at the global level.
• Amplify the moral call for climate justice in Canada and internationally.
• Show solidarity with communities most impacted by the climate crisis.

Together, we can embody integral ecology and live out our mission of justice and care for creation.

The Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology (ORCIE) is proud to announce that from November 10 to 17, 2025, a delegation from ORCIE — Geneviève Gallant, Executive Director, and Sasquia Antúnez Pineda, Advocacy & Communications Officer — will join thousands of world leaders, civil society organizations, and faith-based advocates at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30).

ORCIE’s participation in COP30 reaffirms our commitment to climate justice and to the Global South’s moral call for recognition of ecological debt. By engaging Catholic networks, Canadian policymakers, and global partners, we seek to bring these voices into Canada’s climate conversation and inspire action grounded in justice and care for creation.

Our work at COP30

During the conference, the ORCIE delegation will:

• Work in close collaboration with Sister Eliana Aparecida dos Santos of the Congregation of St. Joseph in Brazil, who is graciously hosting us and participating alongside us in COP30 events.
• Attend key UNFCCC side events and CAN-Rac working group meetings following negotiation streams on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), adaptation, and climate finance.
• Engage Canadian government delegates on issues of ecological debt, loss and damage, and fair financing for global climate action.
• Gather stories and perspectives from faith and civil society partners in the Global South for our Global South Voices project.
• Participate in the People’s Summit and Day of Action events, amplifying messages of solidarity, faith, and ecological justice.

Highlight: ORCIE Staff Will Join COP30 Panel on Global South Bishops’ Call for Climate Justice

We are proud to share that ORCIE staff member, Sasquia Antúnez Pineda, a Honduran-Canadian with lived experience across the Global South and North, will speak on the second panel of the side event “Responding to the Global South Catholic Bishops Conferences’ Call for Climate Justice” on Tuesday, November 11, from 4:45–6:15 p.m. (3:45–5:15 p.m. ET) in the Blue Zone.The event will explore the joint statement A Call for Climate Justice and the Common Home, from the Catholic Bishops Conferences of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean released in June 12, 2025, which calls on the Global North to recognize its ecological debt, phase out fossil fuels, and resist false solutions to the climate crisis.

Drawing on her bi-national perspective and her work on ecological debt, Sasquia will reflect on how insights from Global South civil society can inform Canadian faith-based advocacy, connecting the Bishops’ moral appeal to ORCIE’s work for ecological justice and Canada’s responsibility to act in solidarity for our common home.

Why we’re going

“COP30 is an opportunity for ORCIE to stand in solidarity with the people of the Global South—those most affected by ecological breakdown yet least responsible for it. We will represent the voices of our Catholic religious congregation members and amplify their call for climate justice.”

Geneviève Gallant

ORCIE Executive Director

“By witnessing the negotiations firsthand, we can bring back grounded insights and lived experiences that will give weight and authenticity to ORCIE’s advocacy in Canada. The connections and stories we gather in Belém will inform our briefings, media work, and legislative engagement well into 2026.”

Sasquia Antúnez Pineda

Advocacy & Communications Officer

Carrying the momentum home

The insights and relationships built at COP30 will directly shape ORCIE’s spring legislative advocacy with the federal government, grounding our policy recommendations on Canada’s Nationally Determined Contributions, climate finance, and Loss and Damage commitments in lived experience and moral perspectives from the Global South.

Through post-COP reports, presentations and media, ORCIE will share lessons and reflections with our member congregations and supporters across Canada.

Stay updated on our COP30 journey—follow ORCIE on social media: www.facebook.com/orcie.org and www.instagram.com/orcie.bcrei/

Save the date! Join us on February 12, 2026, at 1 PM EST for ORCIE’s Post-COP30 Reflections Webinar — where we’ll share insights, stories, and next steps for legislative advocacy in Canada.

REGISTER HERE: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tTIvnj8MTgeGWP6VFKtv-A#/registration

The UN annual summit COP30 will be held in the Amazon, in the city of Belém. Photo: Rafa Neddermeyer/COP30 Amazônia/PR)

The Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology (ORCIE) is pleased to share that we have officially endorsed the Open Letter by Faith Organizations in Support of Preserving El Salvador’s Historic Ban on Metals Mining. This collective statement urges governments to uphold the decision of the people of El Salvador and their church institutions to protect their land, water, and communities from the devastating impacts of metallic mining.

We, the undersigned, from a diversity of church structures(representing local, regional, and national expressions of churches and related agencies),express our steadfast support for the people of El Salvador and their religious institutions and leaders who are struggling to maintain their country’s historic ban on metal mining –in place from 2017 to 2024 — so all Salvadorans can enjoy their God-given right to clean water.  We stand in solidarity with civic and religious leaders who are being persecuted and imprisoned for working against injustices, including the devastation that metals mining would cause their communities…”

We encourage our members to join us in this important initiative by signing on behalf of your congregation. Adding your voice amplifies the call from people of faith who are advocating for ecological justice and the defense of communities most at risk.

📅 Deadline to sign: September 1, 2025

👉 Read and sign the open letter here

Together, our collective witness can amplify the moral voice of the people of El Salvador in their call for justice and the care for creation.