Catholic leaders from Pax Christi International, Caritas Internationalis and CIDSE have issued a joint statement warning that climate inaction risks fuelling global conflict, and urging world leaders to show greater resolve ahead of COP30 in Brazil (10-21 November 2025).
The statement cautions that runaway climate change is already acting as a “threat multiplier,” intensifying conflicts by driving competition for resources and forcing people from their homes. It stresses that “there can be no true peace without climate justice, and no climate justice without peace.”
Cardinal Jamie Spengler, Archbishopof Porto Alegre, said: “The climate crisis calls on all of us to take responsibility for creation. Creation is divine work and has inherent dignity. We must not be silent in the face of this suffering. We must be courageous and raise our voices for a just peace, which depends on caring for the environment together.”
Alistair Dutton, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, said: “The climate crisis is already driving conflict over land, water, minerals and other essentials for life. History shows us that such competition often fuels war, while the poorest are left struggling to survive. Leaders must recognise that climate action is vital for global peace, and take the long view.”
Martha Ines Romero, Secretary General of Pax Christi International, said: “The war industry and the fossil fuel industry are inextricably linked. Both feed off inequality and short-term interests instead of the long-term common good. We must reject this path and instead build systems of active non-violence, deepening harmony with each other and with the Earth.”
Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General of CIDSE, said: “The world feels like it is burning — from rampant climate change to wars on multiple continents. Many economies are shifting towards war, while governments fail to break their addiction to fossil fuels. But we must show courage and imagination. We must believe in a better world, begin to create it now and demand that our leaders make it possible, before it is too late.”
Sr Birgit Weiler, Missionary and Theology Professor, said: “Climate change is a crisis which threatens lives on all continents, and it is the poorest who have done the least to cause this crisis who are suffering first and worst. Increasing extreme events and changing weather patterns will only deepen this suffering and exacerbate conflicts across the world. The roots of the crisis of global security and the climate crisis are the same, and so too are the solutions – we must commit to ecological transformation and to forging relationships between each other, across borders and between humanity and nature.”
The secretary generals of the three organisations emphasise that urgent climate action is essential not only to protect the environment but also to prevent future wars and ensure justice for the most marginalised communities.
Together with Pope Leo XIV, they call to halt the march toward war and to renew commitment to peace, sustainability and global justice.
About the organisations:
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations working in over 200 countries and territories.
CIDSE is an international family of Catholic social justice organisations working together for global justice.
Pax Christi International is a global Catholic peace movement active in more than 60 countries, promoting reconciliation, human rights and non-violence.
With thanks to the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE).
