WCC and partners link rights and finance to just transition at COP31

WCC and partners link rights and finance to just transition at COP31

valter

Fri, 11/13/2026 - 19:31

A just transition, a move away from coal, oil, and gas that is fair to workers and communities, is the third of the four calls the World Council of Churches (WCC) brings to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. On 12 November, the WCC co-organized a side event on it in the Blue Zone, the UN-managed area of the conference.

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COP31 side event "Just Transitions away from Fossil Fuels: Voices from Faith Communities"

Photo: Valter Hugo Muniz/WCC

The event was called "Just Transitions away from Fossil Fuels: Voices from Faith Communities.” The WCC organized it with Franciscans International, the Lutheran World Federation, Dominicans for Justice and Peace, and the All Africa Conference of Churches.

"Consultation is not consent. A meeting is not a mandate," said Gunadule theologian Jocabed Solano, one of five panellists. Negotiator for Panama and a member of the WCC ’ s Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples ’ Reference Group, she asked that Indigenous peoples move from stakeholders to co-governors of the transition, with a seat where…