The need for the creation of a stable mechanism between representatives of religions, science, and society, aiming at co-creation and joint action in the interrelated areas of justice, sustainability, and development, was stressed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his address on Monday, 6 November 2023, to the World Conference of Religious Leaders, held in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the COP28 International Meeting on Climate Change to be convened in Dubai in early December.
That’s according to Orthodox Times.
Speaking in English, he said that through this mechanism it is possible to turn strong intentions into real action, and stressed the importance of working together to find solutions that will restore the balance of nature, “in order to build a society that will flourish in harmony with the Earth that sustains us all.”
After the Ecumenical Patriarch’s speech, the Minister of Tolerance and Co-operation of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Nahan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, warmly and cordially congratulated him, while the representative of the Pope of Rome, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the representative of the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Professor Mohamed Al-Duweini, among others, greeted him.
In the afternoon of the same day, in a special outdoor ceremony, the Religious Leaders signed a Joint Declaration in favor of the protection of the natural environment, which was delivered to Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the Emirates, President of the upcoming COP28 meeting, to present it in December to the political leaders of the participating states.
