Climate Activists Convene in Kenya for Interfaith Prayer against Fossil Fuel Expansion in Africa

Nairobi, 27 August, 2025 / 4:16 PM

Climate activists and faith leaders from across Africa gathered in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Sunday, August 24 for an interfaith prayer session to push for an end to fossil expansion on the world’s second largest continent.

Convened by the continental  Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM) at the Holy Family Basilica, the prayer vigil was grounded in prayer and moral witness.

LSM’s programs manager Ashley Kitisya  said in a statement that was shared with ACI Africa that the event featured testimonies from frontline and youth climate leaders, prayers and rituals from diverse faith traditions, and a unified call to action directed at policymakers and fossil fuel corporations.

“Our goal is to increase moral and spiritual pressure on decision-makers to halt fossil fuel expansion and instead invest in a just and sustainable transition,” Ms. Kitisya said.

She said that through prayer, testimony, and solidarity the faith leaders across different divides aim to amplify the voices of those most affected by the climate crisis, calling for climate justice and reparations.

The LSM official noted that the vigil also sought to produce visual and written content to fuel advocacy ahead of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) scheduled for November 10 to 21 in Brazil, ensuring that African faith voices are at the forefront of global climate conversations.

In July, faith groups in Africa also gathered in Nairobi to deliberate on ways to boost their participation in climate summits ahead of the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) and COP30.

The July convention also featured discussions on fossil fuel phase-out, climate finance, and climate adaptation, and also discussions on how to strengthen collaboration among faith-based climate actors.

In their final statement, the faith groupsm challenged African leaders to embrace economic systems that respect the dignity of all people, and not those focused on making profits, as the continent fights to protect biodiversity.

The faith groups that included Catholic representatives urged African leaders to reject “extractive, short-term development models” that sideline citizens.

The groups instead urged African leaders “to embrace regenerative economic systems that protect biodiversity, restore degraded lands, and centre the dignity of all people.”

In the statement following the August 24 Vigil Prayer, Ms. Kitisya said the action forms part of LSM’s “broader mission to inspire and mobilize Catholic communities and all people of goodwill to care for our common home.”

The Kenyan Catholic environmentalist said that by centering moral and faith-based values, LSM seeks to shift public and political narratives toward a fossil fuel-free future rooted in justice.

She, however, lamented that Africa stands on the frontline of the climate crisis, suffering devastating impacts while contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions.