Tagolyn Kabekabe joined Brad Chapman from Anglican Board of Mission, David Cook from Anglican Overseas Aid, and civil society organisations in Melbourne, Australia, at the C20 Summit in June 2014. She was there to bring the voices from Anglican churches and agencies across the Pacific that are calling for urgent action on climate change. A video of Tagolyn’s participation at the C20 is available here.
Following the Summit, the C20 released a Communique outlining their discussions and the priorities brought forward for the attention of the G20.
The C20 Communique highlighted climate change as a top priority and said, “There can be no sustained economic growth without governments attending to the urgent ramifications of climate change. Regardless of domestic political considerations, climate change must be a stand-alone issue on the G20 agenda.”
The statement continued, “We expect G20 leaders to provide momentum to delivering an ambitious global climate agreement at the 2015 UNFCCC Climate Summit in Paris, by including a climate finance roadmap by April 2015 to help developing countries reduce emissions and manage the unavoidable impacts of climate change, and to implement mitigation strategies which will ensure that sustainable economic growth is not affected by rapid changes in the world’s climate.”
Climate change is one of the most prominent issues facing developing countries today, and Tagolyn is working with churches and agencies across the Pacific to make sure the voices of those most vulnerable are heard at the G20 this year.
An Anglican Alliance campaign is being launched by a global coalition of churches and agencies in the Pacific and Australia, which will ask Anglicans worldwide to join the call for climate change to be put as a stand-alone item on the G20 agenda.
Tagolyn Kabekabe was also a key speaker at Voices for Justice this year, which is an event run by Micah Challenge Australia in Canberra each year. She spoke there about the impacts of climate change in the Pacific and the current slow pace of action to reduce emissions and commit resources to climate change adaptation. In a blog post following the event, Benton Wecker at Micah Challenge wrote, “The impacts of climate change are more clearly understood in the Pacific Islands context than in Australia and it was wonderful to hear Tagolyn’s perspective.”
At a recent Anglican Alliance webinar Tagolyn Kabekabe said, “The global community need to have a listening ear – to listen to the most vulnerable rather than telling them what to do. Then we can begin to work together on these issues.”
In the picture: Tagolyn Kabekabe at the C20 Summit. Photo credit: Anglican Board of Mission – Australia
