Ferrum, VA, January 3, 2024 — Episcopal delegates are advocating for stronger actions to help solve the global climate crisis, and Ferrum College’s Dr. Delia Heck is a leader in this global conversation. Last month, ninety thousand world leaders and climate representatives participated in COP28, the 28th United Nations Conference of Parties, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Dr. Heck served as a panelist representing the Episcopal Church.
COP28 is the first U. N. conference with a faith pavilion where participants could engage in faith-based sessions with stakeholders, political delegations, and other leaders to promote climate action.
The Episcopal Diocese of California is one of more than 50 faith organizations that collaborated to establish the faith pavilion. They hosted a panel discussion called “A Case Study in Faith-Based Advocacy and Witness” featuring Dr. Heck, who serves on the church’s Task Force on Care of Creation and Environmental Racism.
“The experience of COP28 was like drinking out of a water tanker—overwhelming and yet extremely satisfying. The pace of change for so long has seemed glacial, but two things happened this year that were unexpected: Loss and Damage was funded and there was agreement that the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels,” said Heck.
In his closing remarks, COP 28 President Al Jaber mentioned the impact of speaking from the heart that made these two milestones possible, and Dr. Heck agrees that the human heart was visible and impactful. “It was clear at COP28 in the storytelling of climate justice, of nature-based & indigenous solutions, youth-led initiatives, and the ways in which faith organizations and this church show up on a daily basis….There were so many stories, not only of hope, but of courage, action, faith, justice, young people, women, and impacted communities from around the world.”
Dr. Heck is also a member of the Episcopal Relief and Development’s Climate Resiliency Community of Practice; she provided a debrief of COP28 to this community on December 27. “Folks in that group wanted to know what we as members of the global north are going to be doing to ensure that the Loss and Damage agreements are met. If we profess on Sunday mornings that we are followers of the Way of Love, then the choices we make the rest of the week must reflect that care for creation.”
“We as people of faith, are called to care for all our siblings which means that our actions must align with our words. I shared with the Community that we must keep telling stories from our hearts of the actions we are taking. We must not give up. Every day there are opportunities to love God and love our neighbors; we must not pass them by—there is no more time to watch and wait. Hope is a concept that is only manifest by the actions that we take as we pursue climate justice, reconciliation, and a just transition.”
Read the full press release from the Episcopal News Service on COP28 here.
