Stewardship of creation

Synod mandates the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany to approach the German Federal Government and urge it to

• Work for an overarching, binding goal of restricting global warming to 1.5°C C or a maximum of 2°C, cementing this in international law and agreeing on a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies und a transparent verification mechanism with regular adjustments;
• Ensure that the Federal Republic of Germany meets its commitments in the framework of international climate protection financing to achieve more climate justice (worldwide USD 100 billion to be granted annually by industrialised states from 2020) and indicates concrete steps towards reaching this target;
• Take the initiative with programmes aimed at reaching the 1.5/2°C objective and achieving climate justice;
• Adopt a climate protection law at the national level with binding decarbonisation targets and specific climate protection measures;
• Act to phase out the use of coal for power generation by 2040 at the latest and set maximum CO2 emissions levels for fossil-fuel power plants;
• Initiate an annual reduction of approx. EUR 50 billion in subsidies harmful to the environment and the climate.

Advocate for a climate resilience goal in the Paris agreement, to be accompanied by adequate support for those countries and people most threatened by the impacts of climate change, also by reinforcing the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage.

Having regard to the decision of the 11th Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany during its 7th session, Synod asks the EKD member churches to be consistent in continuing to reduce their CO2 emissions and to aim for a total reduction of 40% by 2020 compared to the base year 2005. Synod encourages its member churches to develop and implement appropriate climate protection schemes.

In order to achieve this goal, those member churches that already have a climate protection scheme are urged to implement it without delay. The other member churches are recommended to draw on the experience of those member churches already active in this field in order to draft and adopt their own climate protection schemes as fast as possible, or to take appropriate action in some other way to protect the climate.

Furthermore, the EKD Synod urges member churches and their agencies to support projects for climate justice and, in the coming weeks, to particularly highlight the need for all Christians to commit themselves actively to containing global warming, caring for creation and achieving climate justice worldwide. In particular, Synod supports the Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Climate Justice to Paris in the context of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace launched by the World Council of Churches, encouraging the pilgrims in their dedicated pursuit of a just and binding climate agreement at COP21.

The EKD Synod asks the executive bodies and congregations of its member churches to call on policy-makers and the public at large to recognize the moral imperative for action in Paris, just as 154 international faith and spiritual leaders have already done.

Bremen, 11 November 2015

The President of Synod
Evangelical Church in Germany
Dr. Irmgard Schwaetzer