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Faith groups carry a grants-not-loans demand toward COP31

September 9, 2026 · 1 min read

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Wed, 09/09/2026 - 11:07

Climate finance, the money that helps countries cut emissions and cope with impacts, should come as grants, not debt-creating loans, demanded faith-based organizations at the UN Human Rights Council as COP31 in Antalya, Turkey approaches. "Climate Finance for Human Rights, Resilience, and Justice", held in Geneva on 7 September, was convened by Franciscans International, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and six other partners.

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Speakers at the Climate Finance event at the 63rd Human Rights Council.

Photo: Franciscans International

"From a faith perspective, climate finance is not simply about finding more money for climate action," said Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development. "We also want to look at who pays and who benefits and who bears the risks."

Private investment cannot close the gap, Peralta argued: it follows returns, not need. Public finance must move back to the centre: "we need to see climate finance, debt and tax as part of the same system."

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Source: World Council of Churches · Read the full story →

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Photini Taylor

I get wanting grants over loans, but when Athena Peralta says private investment follows returns not need, it makes me wonder who exactly is supposed to keep paying the public bill year after year. As a nurse I see families already stretched thin on basics; adding more global debt relief that ends up as higher taxes here in Wichita doesn't feel like justice. What does the WCC actually propose for the "who pays" part in plain numbers?

Дмитрий Новиков

I agree that debt only suffocates poor countries, but in the end who will pay for everything out of their own pocket? In Russia, we have enough of our own problems with utilities and roads, and then they issue global bills. I wonder how much exactly these faith groups propose to collect and from whom exactly?