Dominican News
United Nations Climate Change Conference
Dominican Sister Gives Voice to Shared Concerns
by Dusty Farnan, OP (Adrian)
United Nations representative for the
Dominican Leadership Conference
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP27, was held Nov. 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Sharm el-Sheikh is Egyptian for the city of peace, an apt name for the international gathering to address the increasing urgency for climate crisis action. The city is located about 50 miles from Mt. Sinai, a site sacred to three major faith traditions, all of whom recognize the one Creator whose love encompasses the whole of life.
This gathering included heads of state, ministers and negotiators, climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives, CEOs, and concerned citizens from many nations who came together to continue the ongoing efforts to revitalize international cooperation on climate action. It is essential that they hear from as many voices as possible. We are all affected by the growing consequences of climate change.
“Our Dominican voice is one of the many that must be heard,” said Sharon Zayac, OP (Springfield). “There are over 20,000 Dominican Sisters and Brothers in almost every nation of the globe. We are on the ground, literally, experiencing the crises, living and working with the increasing numbers of people, particularly the poor and marginalized, whose lives and livelihoods are devastated by extreme heat, loss of biodiversity, storms, drought, floods, and fire. It is not only our compassion and desire for justice that moves us to action, however. Our response comes from the very heart of why we were founded.”
Thank you for holding in prayer a successful outcome of COP27. A calendar was provided by a team of Dominicans from North America and South Africa who have reached out to Dominicans across the world for reflections on the daily Scripture readings during COP27 and have asked Sisters and Associates to share videos of their commitment to mitigate climate change. Thank you for praying for me as I visited Egypt to bring the voice and commitment of the Dominicans and the Medical Mission Sisters to COP27. Unfortunately, negotiations to address global climate change were slow moving. It was disappointing to witness wealthy, developed nations fail to establish climate mitigation funds to help less developed nations that have suffered more of the consequences of global climate change.