Last week’s SB62 Bonn Climate Meetings, the annual UNFCCC climate conference held each June, marked a significant first: the Society of Jesus sent a coordinated delegation to participate in this crucial event, which serves as the halfway point between COPs. This pioneering Jesuit delegation, including Colm Fahy (JESC, Brussels), Cristóbal Emilfork SJ (University of California), Jörg Alt SJ (Jesuiten Weltweit, Germany), Filipe Martins SJ (JESC, Brussels), and Richard Solly (Jesuit Missions, UK), attended not only to observe and actively participate in preparation for COP30, but also to advocate for the three key calls of the Jesuits for Climate Justice COP30 campaign. The group was supported by the remote participation of Roberto Jaramillo SJ and Daniela Alba, respectively Secretary and Advocacy Officer from the global Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, and delivered on a daily basis personal reflections, highlights of the negotiations and videos with partners. 

The concluding sentiment of the event was that whilst some progress was made, much more remains to be done. SB62 proved to be a challenging conference, with many key climate justice demands largely deferred to COP30. While some progress was made on Adaptation indicators and a draft text emerged for Just Transition, the Global Stocktake saw limited advancement due to deep divisions. Crucially, climate finance remained a major sticking point, with calls for debt cancellation and a robust Loss and Damage Fund facing resistance, leaving significant work for COP30. Overall, the conference highlighted the urgent need for global leaders to take decisive action and adequately fund poorer countries for a sustainable transition. It was obvious to observers like the Jesuit delegation that many powerful countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which have much to lose from climate legislation, used the conference as a means to delay decisions.

The conference also grappled with many ‘elephants in the room’, with climate migration being a prime example. This was one of the significant observations of the participants of a side event on Climate Change and Climate Migration organised by the Jesuit group, which powerfully demonstrated a unity amongst attendees. In the event, experts Dr. Samuel Zewdie Hagos and Dr. Jörg Alt SJ led a discussion highlighting how the media often misrepresents extreme weather events in the Global South as “natural disasters,” obscuring their root causes. They also underscored the mutual interest of both the Global North and South in bold climate responses. Climate migration, a seldom-addressed but increasingly urgent issue already displacing millions, sparked a lively discussion (whose raw footage can be seen here, with both presentations available here and here), reinforcing the Catholic Church’s commitment to advocating for marginalised communities.

The Jesuits for Climate Justice presence in Bonn in 2025 might be viewed as a ‘drop in the ocean’ in terms of our impact on climate activism, but the presence of church actors, and indeed the Jesuits, should not be underestimated. At a time when populism and other factors are delaying measures on climate change, it is more important than ever that faith groups come together to push the moral imperative of protecting our common home and the poorest who suffer most from this crisis.

Colm Fahy
JESC Ecology Advocacy Officer