Each year the United Nations hosts a “Conference of the Parties” (COP) where nations of the world gather to agree on steps to take to address climate change. COP30 was held in Brazil in 2025, and Colin Hoogerwerf went as part of the Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP).
In his presentation to Adult Education on April 19, 2026, he explained that attitudes about climate change are often not based on scientific facts but on beliefs. Beliefs are often determined by things like fear, loyalty, trust, politics, and economics—not scientific data.
Colin says hearing stories from real people about how climate change is affecting them can help move the needle of Christian response to this politicized issue better than data, reason, or logic. He proceeded to share some of the stories he heard at the conference:
- Farmers in Africa, asked about their concerns, now speak of the dangers of climate change rather than just hunger and poverty.
- German Svenja Akwaba, a safari guide in Kenya, said that all her neighbors—who had built their shelters in a dry riverbed during a years-long drought—were washed away in severe flooding when the rains came and didn’t stop. She still doesn’t know what happened to them. (Drought and heavy rains are both caused by climate change.)
- Guilherme Gastal, an environmental engineer in Brazil, tells of the torrential rains in 2024 that caused severe flooding for 2.3 million people in 478 communities, resulting in 185 deaths, 806 injured, and 23 missing. He said having children of his own has made him see the climate crisis in a different way—put a “face” on it.
Colin suggested that is what we must do: put a face on climate change, listen to and share the stories of those who are affected, and then make our faith choices. We decide how we choose to live, and whom we choose to follow, based on our care and concern for those affected.
The last story Colin shared was from Emilie Teresa Smith, a parish priest from Canada, who traveled to Brazil by land and sea and visited many communities along the way. She told of a man who lived near a polluted river that killed anything it touched—including a small boy who fell in and accidentally swallowed some water. His answer was to start a tree nursery by this river that was declared dead, so that anyone who wanted could get free trees to reforest the area. She also told of the bounty along the Amazon, from melon patches to fruit trees to fish in the river, that sustains the local population—so long as the river and rain forest are protected and cared for.
These signs of optimism can inspire us and unite us in action to care for creation and the people God loves. It is how we move forward to help create the world we want for our children and grandchildren.
Photo by Abhishek Tewari on Unsplash