On October 22 last year – three weeks before the opening of the COP29 climate conference in Baku – faith leaders, local council representatives and researchers from the London School of Economics convened at the Brent Civic Centre for a conversation on climate change. But these discussions were not your typical climate policy discussions. They were rooted in something deeper, something more profound than economics and policy.

The topic of this symposium was ‘The Connection Between Faith and Climate Action,' an often overlooked, yet critical intersection, which the LSE Religion and Global Society (LSE RGS) research unit has been investigating over the past three years through its Global Religious Pluralities project.

A particularly acute need is to develop faith literacy programmes for employees of councils and public sector staff to enhance engagement with faith communities in the climate space. This training could be integrated into existing equality, diversity and inclusion frameworks, or more significantly, be incorporated into executive management strategies. Here are three recommendations for how to do this effectively

For its part, Brent LBC has been a leading London borough in encouraging broad stakeholder collaboration in pursuing its goals of achieving net zero emissions by 2030, which has included robust engagement with grassroots faith communities.

This workshop, a first-of-its-kind convening between faith leaders and local policy-makers, sought to bring the expertise of both institutions into conversation with local stakeholders to develop more effective engagement methods for environmental policy engagement.

As presentations on LSE's research and Brent LBC's stakeholder engagement progressed and participants shared testimonies and perspectives on meaningfully engaging faith communities in climate action, central themes emerged. While most participants in the room were aware of the importance of engaging faith leaders in political discussions, significant challenges to successful engagement became clear throughout the event.

On one hand, policy-makers feel ill-equipped to engage faith communities, often because they are uncertain about the appropriate language to use in such engagement. On the other hand, faith communities often feel excluded from policy-making spaces because the language which makes sense to them is at best ignored, at worst discouraged in political fora, particularly in the climate space.

The challenge is self-perpetuating: as policy progresses absent of input from these communities, trust in global policy-making is reduced and democratic engagement weakened. There is an urgent need for rethinking faith engagement in climate spaces.

Why is engaging faith communities important? While often overlooked, they are important actors in climate policy, both on local and international levels.

Faith-based organisation (FBOs) are one of the largest investment blocs on the planet and manage around 10% of global financial assets. These organisations have also proved responsive to calls for managing these financial assets sustainably. In 2024, 35% of global fossil fuel divestments came from FBOs.

In addition to their financial leverage, FBOs control hundreds of millions of hectares of land and millions of buildings globally – both sectors critical to reducing global emissions. It is estimated that 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings.

In these ways, faith bodies are well-positioned to contribute to global adaptation and mitigation efforts, which will rely heavily on carbon reduction and financial investment.

Due to this engagement and local impact, many faith leaders enjoy higher levels of trust in their local communities than politicians.

Finally, as research from LSE RGS has demonstrated, the language of faith resonates more deeply with the vast majority of the people in the world than the technological and scientific narratives climate policy often adopts.

Recognising that more than 80% of the global population follows a faith – and that this number is only expected to grow – and the global backlash against climate policies has made governing the environment difficult, finding a language which resonates with diverse communities is vital.

Through these discussions, key gaps in existing engagement strategies were identified and recommendations for future policy engagement co-produced.

A particularly acute need is to develop faith literacy programmes for employees of councils and public sector staff to enhance engagement with faith communities in the climate space. This training could be integrated into existing equality, diversity and inclusion frameworks, or more significantly, be incorporated into executive management strategies. Here are three recommendations for how to do this effectively.

First, it is important to focus on developing an appropriate and impactful language in these trainings. The largely technological and political rhetoric of climate policy is unlikely to resonate with faith communities to the same extent that a dialogue rooted in spirituality or ‘religious imaginations' will.

Second, engagement with faith leaders on these issues should be dynamic and deliberate. Policy-makers should be encouraged to proactively invite faith leaders into secular spaces to engage in debates and discussions surrounding climate.

Third, facilitators must be careful not to impose the rules of engagement. Including faith communities in policy discussions should be aimed at co-producing policies and strategies, not co-opting the influence of religious leaders for political gain.

Ultimately, policy prescriptions must be tailored to local contexts and delivered in a proactive and careful manner. As affirmed by LSE's research and Brent LBC's faith engagement communities, conducting this engagement properly can sow the seeds for productive engagement with faith communities as it relates to climate adaption strategies and engagement. But these efforts can also strengthen the capacity of government to support communities who are affected by global conflicts and developments – a worthwhile mission indeed.

Nadia Khan is climate actions partnership manager at Brent LBC and Kristian Noll is project officer at the LSE Faith Centre and the LSE Religion and Society Faith Unit