What CAFOD's supporters packed for COP31
Guest blog by Andrea Speranza, Campaigns and External Networks Manager, CAFOD
The Climate Coalition brings together 120+ member organisations, representing over 20 million people across the UK. In this guest blog, Andrea Speranza from CAFOD, one of our faith and international development members, shares how its supporters found a creative way to make their voices heard ahead of COP31.
One of the biggest strengths of being part of The Climate Coalition is the diversity of voices it brings to the climate cause.
In our case, as an international, faith-based agency, our supporters bring a distinctive voice rooted in our Catholic tradition. As a faith community, we see the climate crisis not only as an environmental or technical problem, but as a question of justice, human dignity and the protection of our common home. So every year ahead of the climate talks, our supporters ask us the same question: what are we organising for COP this year?
A different kind of message
For COP31 in Türkiye, we set out to take a different approach. We wanted to move beyond the familiar template action, where people simply add their name to a pre-written message, and instead make room for the genuine voices of our supporters.
So how do you send a COP message that wouldn’t fit in an inbox?
We invited our network to pack a virtual “suitcase” for the energy minister, making sure she took the things that would really make a difference.
The items our supporters chose symbolise their frustrations, concerns and hopes far more clearly and concisely than anything we could write on their behalf. In this suitcase, there was no room for empty promises, greenlighting Jackdaw-style gas developments, or leaving crucial targets behind.
Instead, a pair of glasses was placed in the luggage so the minister could see the reality faced by our brothers and sisters in the Global South, who are most affected by climate change. There was a compass to keep UK climate policy heading in the right direction, and a fountain pen to sign up to real commitments.
There was also a key to unlock investment in clean energy and international cooperation, alongside a “No Entry” placard to keep fossil fuel lobbyists well away from the summit doors.
Supporters added other contributions too, including the CAFOD debt report, references to scientific data, traditional prayers and even a song. And while the action wasn’t originally aimed at young people, we were delighted that they joined in enthusiastically too.
Creative, but deeply serious
While the action took a creative approach, the message behind it was deeply serious: it is time for the UK government to show true moral and strategic climate leadership at COP.
For faith communities like ours, tackling climate and nature loss cannot be reduced to a partisan debate or a matter of political preference. It flows directly from our faith, reflected in everything from the Holy See joining the Paris Agreement to official documents such as Laudato Si. To listen to this call is to engage with the diversity of voices calling for climate action right across the UK.
Image: What Holy Family Small Heath packed:
- Fairy liquid, to remind you to keep the earth clean
- A clock, to show that time is ticking
- A seed, then a leaf, to show that planting a small thing can have a big impact
- A light, to guide good decisions
- A stone, to represent staying strong and keeping your faith
- A rainbow, to represent a brighter future
- Food and a water bottle, because everyone needs food and clean water to live
- A jigsaw piece, because everyone has a part to play
Many voices, one call
Like the jigsaw piece in Holy Family’s suitcase, every member of The Climate Coalition has a part to play. Faith communities, youth groups, health professionals, local groups and international development agencies like CAFOD each bring their own reasons for caring and their own way of taking action. Together, more than 120 organisations are making the same call: for a healthier, fairer future, and for UK leaders who show up for it.
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