Copenhagen, 17 December 2009 - Bishops from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom have addressed a joint statement to the European leaders gathered in Copenhagen urging them to be morally courageous during the pivotal climate negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15).

The Bishops encourages the EU to show a genuine solidarity with poorest in the world, who are already severely affected by climate change, by announcing a unilateral CO2 emission reduction by 30% by 2020. The Bishops also underline that this reduction must be  financed with additional funds, separated from the aid budget.

Caritas Europa completely supports the Bishops' position and joins the demand from Caritas Internationalis and CIDSE, who are calling for a fair effective and binding climate agreement based on a set of essential criteria:

• Developed countries must commit to at least €131 billion in public financing per year by 2020 to support developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change and develop sustainably. This financing must be additional to already existing aid money, and must be delivered in a secure and predictable way
  
  
• Global commitment is necessary to keep global warming well below 2°C, to emissions peaking between 2013 and 2017, and to achieve a stable level of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere of 350 ppm
  
  
• Copenhagen outcomes must be legally binding and enforceable