Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

Press release No. 09-83/e

6 November 2009

CCEE/CEC Churches responding to climate change

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) have sent today a joint letter to the Churches of Europe on "Churches responding to climate change", in view of the United Nations' Climate Conference to be held in Copenhagen from 7-18 December 2009.

"Climate change is an issue for each one of us. It affects the life of the whole planet. The earth and all its ecosystems are a precious gift which we have received from God", the letter states. It goes on encouraging "Churches and Christians in Europe to take appropriate action to address the challenge of climate change in the weeks to come" and suggesting some concrete steps, such as approaching their respective governments, taking part in initiatives for saving energy, sharing of initiatives and good practices "leading to the care of creation, as emphasised and recommended in the outcomes of the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly in 2007 in Sibiu (Romania).

For the full text of the joint letter please see the following: English, French and German.

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) gathers the Presidents of the current 33 European Bishops’ Conferences of this Continent, represented by their Presidents, and the Archbishops of Luxembourg and of the Principality of Monaco, as well as the Bishop of Chisinau (Moldavia). The President is Cardinal Péter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Primate of Hungary; the Vice-Presidents are Cardinal Josip Bosanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, and Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux. The General Secretary of CCEE is Fr Duarte da Cunha. The headquarters of the Secretariat is in St. Gallen (Switzerland).

For more information:
Luca Negro
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail: Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org

Thierry Bonaventura
CCEE Media Officer
phone +41 71 227 6040
mobile +41 78 851 6040
e-mail: thierry.bonaventura@ccee.ch