Two networks of faith-based humanitarian and development groups will be sending a delegation to this month's high-level U.N. event on climate change to ask world leaders to give the highest political priority to a new climate deal.

Alongside representatives from CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis, church leaders and climate experts from the developed and developing world will personally urge world leaders to think about the world's poorest people as they believe "bold action is needed to protect them from the devastating impacts of climate change."

"Wealthy countries have an unequivocal moral duty to reduce their own emissions and help developing countries who are already suffering the consequences of our profligate use of fossil fuels for economic gain," commented delegation head Keith O'Brien, a cardinal from the United Kingdom.

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2009 is a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change. In December, national government delegations who agreed to shape an ambitious international response to climate change in 2007 will be meeting for the end-of-the-year summit in Copenhagen to finalize the details of a new climate change agreement that will replace the current one, which runs until 2012.

According to some scientists, industrialized nations must cut emissions by 25 to 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent climate disasters, such as coastal flooding from rising sea levels, severe weather events, and variations in rainfall and temperatures that will affect agriculture and wipe out species of plants and animals.

CIDSE, meanwhile, is a network of 16 member organizations in Europe and North America that share a common strategy in their efforts to eradicate poverty and establish global justice. CIDSE’s advocacy work covers global governance, resources for development, climate change, trade and food security, EU development policy and business, and human rights.