Climate Partnerships Project ends after three years
How the climate crisis has set churches in Germany and Tanzania on a shared path
Hamburg, 02. Mai 2026 (ce) – Countless phone calls, documents, spreadsheets with finances, calculations of emissions or consumption, digital meetings, project group gatherings, and real encounters too. After three years, the „Church Climate Action Partnerships“ (CCAP) project came to an end in April. Joygrace Shoo from the East of Lake Victoria Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and Fabio Banet from Ökumenewerk der Nordkirche reflect on the successes and lessons learned from the climate partnerships. A joint publication summarises the key findings.
Tanzanian-German climate partnerships – a new form of cooperation
The Climate Partnerships project, jointly led by Joygrace Shoo and Fabio Banet, broke new ground for a church partnership in several respects: two church institutions agreed on the purpose, objectives, and equitable design of their relationship before beginning their collaboration, and documented this in writing. They also agreed on a three-year timeframe and a shared theme.
Climate Partnerships Project: a memorandum was signed at the launch
„The idea for this project emerged at the parish level in the Victoria Diocese. We shared our concept with Ökumenewerk and agreed that the climate crisis connects us in many ways, which is why we could only work as equal partners in this project,“ recalls Joygrace Shoo. „The shared theme was the foundation of our collaboration. This could be a model for the future of partnerships. Possible further themes could include peacebuilding or youth exchanges,“ says Fabio Banet.
A joint “Memorandum of Understanding marked the start of the project. The conditions of the participating partners in the Nordkirche and in Tanzania were quite different. „Our church developed a climate plan for six years to find ways of dealing with the climate crisis,“ explains Joygrace Shoo. The topic was thus known throughout the church, but concrete measures were usually planned centrally and then simply implemented locally. „In this project, by contrast, there was a very participatory approach from the beginning,“ she says. The teams on the ground developed measures that corresponded to their priorities, needs, and possibilities. „That’s why the project strengthened local responsibility and ensured that the measures really matched local realities.“
CCAP in practice: Building networks and knowledge on the ground
She continues: „After their training, community members were able to conduct training sessions themselves, passing on their knowledge to other communities, institutions, and local municipalities.“ In addition, this helped win over more people as well as local politicians, schools, or communities for the topic. Additional dialogue events with the local municipality raised awareness of the climate crisis beyond the church and encouraged other actors to implement their own measures for greater climate protection. „When communities come together through dialogue and learning, not only is knowledge built. Hope, understanding, and new possibilities for dealing with the climate crisis emerge,“ explains Joygrace Shoo.
Nordkirche: Finances and membership are declining
Fabio Banet, meanwhile, recalls the difficulty of finding motivated communities or institutions in the Nordkirche for the Climate Partnerships project. Although the Nordkirche also adopted its first climate protection act in 2022, under which the church aims to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2040, and corresponding plans have been drawn up at many church district synods.
Photo: CCAP project coordinator Fabio Banet (Hamburg, Germany)
Yet many communities are heavily occupied with merger processes and restructuring due to shrinking finances and declining membership. The three-year duration of the project ultimately made it easier for participating communities. „Without the time limit, some would not have agreed,“ recalls Fabio Banet. „The three-year duration triggered mixed feelings for us,“ says Joygrace Shoo, by contrast. „Partnerships in our context are long-term relationships; this project was structured differently. But still: this way we could bring more resources and capabilities for a limited time.“
Historically grown relationships formed the basis of the Climate Partnerships project
„The project showed that every partner has valuable knowledge and can share experiences,“ explains Joygrace Shoo. Historically grown relationships, such as those between the Lutheran Church in Tanzania and Ökumenewerk der Nordkirche, are an important foundation for transforming relationships between communities and groups in both countries. For: „We are one body in Christ, we are brothers and sisters, called to be one in the Spirit. (…) As brothers and sisters in Christ we need each other. The global crises at the moment are proving all the more how we are all interdependent,“ states the „Memorandum of Understanding„.
Photo: Joint learning during the CCAP encounter journey in January 2026
Reflection on colonisation and injustice
Tanzania and Germany: the two countries and their churches share much. There is a painful past through colonisation, ongoing economic injustices, and still missing reparations for historical crimes. That is why education and reflection were key elements in this new partnership project. The seminars included methods of Global Learning and examined the history of colonisation and its entanglement with mission history.
„These seminars were very important and created space for fruitful discussions among ourselves,“ says Fabio Banet. And yet this approach did not end with raising awareness of colonial structures: „The joint decision-making process, especially in the use of finances, was decisive for sharing power and overcoming hierarchies of the past.“
Heute sind globale Probleme überall spürbar, ob die Klimakrise, Kriege oder Lieferketten. Auch heute verbindet der gemeinsame Glaube die Menschen in den Partnerkirchen. Doch langjährige Beziehungen, Vertrauen und Respekt für einander müssen gepflegt und mit Leben gefüllt werden. „Das Projekt zeigt, dass gewachsene kirchliche Partnerschaften etwas bewegen können, das einen nachhaltigen Einfluss sowohl global als auch lokal hat“, sagt Joygrace Shoo rückblickend. „Partnerschaften sind entscheidende Orte der Zivilgesellschaft, um wachsenden Hass und Nationalismus zu überwinden“, ergänzt Fabio Banet.
Photo: Celebrating together as part of the CCAP exchange trip in January 2026
Photo: Africa desk officer Katharina Davis (centre), education officers Judith Meyer-Kahrs and Uli Eder (Climate Justice Information Centre) present the bilingual final brochure.
Photos: © Ökumenewerk der Nordkirche / ELVD