Ethics and Climate Change

The thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will meet in Belim, Brazil, in November 2025.

The COP President-Designate, André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, wrote a letter on 10 March 2025 describing the Brazilian Governments objectives and proposals for COP30. Of particular interest to IEF are the following quotes from that letter.

"The incoming presidency will also undertake a “Global Ethical Stocktake” (GES) to hear from a geographically diverse group of thinkers, scientists, politicians, religious leaders, artists, philosophers, and traditional peoples and communities, among others, about ethical commitments and practices for dealing with climate change at all levels. As French philosopher Rabelais warned us in the 16th century, “science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l'âme” (“science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul”)."

"We will also invite leaders among Indigenous Peoples to form a “Circle of Indigenous Leadership” to help integrate traditional knowledges and wisdom into global collective intelligence."