The vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), Patricia Gualinga, recently participated in the international meeting Global Ethical Balance with a view to COP 30, a space that is being developed in different regions of the world and which brought together representatives from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean in Bogotá.
The event was attended by prominent figures, including former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Brazilian Minister of the Environment Marina Silva, current COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago, and Brazilian Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara, as well as experts and leaders from various social, legal, scientific, and cultural fields.
In total, some 30 diverse voices shared their perspectives in a high-level closed-door conversation that addressed ethical, cultural, spiritual, social, and scientific issues related to the climate crisis and the future of the planet.
During her speech, Patricia Gualinga emphasized the importance of the perspective of indigenous peoples, recalling that nature should not only be seen as a resource, but as a subject with dignity and rights:
“According to our cultures and traditions, nature sees us as brothers and sisters. However, we humans have acted as if we were above it, destroying what should be cared for and respected. The Amazon is one of the most important pillars for planetary balance, and we have not cared about putting it at risk,” she said.
He also highlighted the urgency of questioning why governments have not taken stronger measures to meet international commitments, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, and raised the need to listen to science without separating it from spirituality, culture, and ethics.
The meeting, which also included the voices of young people, artists, and indigenous representatives, opened a space for collective and plural reflection on the socio-environmental crisis, contributing perspectives that transcend technicalities to place people and the Common Home at the center.
For CEAMA, Patricia Gualinga’s participation is a sign of the Church’s commitment in the Amazon to international environmental and climate advocacy processes, in line with Pope Francis’ call to build an integral ecology and to work together for socio-environmental justice for present and future generations.