Bhupender Yadav, India’s Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, visited the Faith Pavilion at COP28, organized by the Muslim Council of Elders in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency, the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence in the UAE, and the United Nations Environment Programme. During the visit, he Yadav was introduced to the various initiatives and activities of the pavilion aimed at raising awareness about the climate crisis.
Yadav commended the efforts of the Muslim Council of Elders, under the chairmanship of His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, in addressing various global challenges, notably climate change. He emphasized that this pavilion provides a crucial opportunity to engage religious leaders in discussions on how to tackle climate issues, fostering cooperation and understanding among different religious communities in their shared endeavor to protect the environment and its natural resources.
He also expressed his deep belief in the significant role of religions in changing behavioral patterns harmful to the environment, advocating for raising awareness in communities to enhance their understanding of the climate crisis and the necessity to mitigate its impacts, especially on vulnerable and marginalized communities. He affirmed that collective commitment is essential to work towards environmental conservation, as all religions call for collaborative action, unity, and cooperation to build a better and sustainable future for planet Earth.
The Faith Pavilion at COP28 aims to bring together religious leaders, scholars, youth, environmental experts, and indigenous peoples most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in one place. It hosts over dialogue sessions and more than 300 speakers from various fields to unite leaders in adopting a unified stance on the climate crisis and issuing a call to policymakers and decision-makers for urgent action.