COP30 in Bethlehem

1 O little town of  Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;

yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;

the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Leaders and representatives from nations across our precious planetary home are already gathering for the annual United Nations Climate Conference called COP30 this year.  As you may have read here in the past I have grown rather cynical about these gatherings because it seems that thousands burn fossil fuels to get there, stay in high-end hotels, make decisions that are "aspirational" rather than binding, then return home to ignore them. 

The wealthiest nations are artful dodgers whether it is meeting the Paris Climate Accord targets or setting up a fund to support the nations most vulnerable to climate change. Canada is among those double-speak countries. At least we're present -- the United States will be a no-show this year thanks to the Trump administrations climate crisis denial.

Just the same, there are always efforts to counter the manipulation of the agenda by rich nations and the fossil fuel industries. There are representatives from Non-Government Agencies and faith groups and Indigenous groups who challenge the narrative through protests, worship events, and think-tanks. It would be wrong to dismiss the importance of their presence, even though it seems that they don't have much influence.

This year COP30 is in Brazil, at the edge of the Amazon region, in a city called Belem. The  Portuguese name, Belem, is Bethlehem in English and I've been pondering this. Our Christian faith story began with the birth of Jesus in the most unlikely of circumstances two millennia ago. It is so wildly improbable that a religion could take root in such circumstances, the down-to-Earth God dwelling amongst us, and yet...

So, I will continue to pray to the Creator for change, for the sake of this generation and generations to come.  I might even hum "O Little Town of Bethlehem" as a daily mantra.

Here is a description of COP30 you might find helpful: 

 COP30 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Belém, Brazil from 10 to 21 November 2025. 

UN Climate Change Conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change that brings together almost every country on Earth.  

To put it simply, the COP is where the world comes together to agree on the actions to address the climate crisis, such as limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. 

COP30 will bring together world leaders and negotiators from the member states (or Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to further global progress, with business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society sharing insights and best practices to strengthen global, collective and inclusive climate action. 

Officially, COP30 stands for the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a landmark international treaty agreed in 1992, and parent treaty to the 2015 Paris Agreement.