And it is about time. Climate action and COP27 are increasingly threatened by deep divisions emerging between the Global South and and Global North over fairness of climate adaptation, loss, and damage.

The terms Global South and North are not simple geographical descriptions for countries below and above the equator. Rather the Global North is the world’s richest nations, largely in North America and Europe, which carry the main responsibility for historical emissions, while the Global South refers to its poorest and developing nations in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania – many of them bearing the immediate brunt of climate change.

Australia, while in the southern hemisphere, is morally part of the Global North, while its poorer, low-lying Pacific neighbours, such as Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Fiji and Solomon Islands, live with the existential threat of sea-level rise and an increasing frequency of dangerous cyclones.

So far, the world’s richest nations have failed to deliver their promise of $100 billion in climate finance, angering many in the Global South who view this as a grave injustice.

I understand where those in the Global South is coming from. For years its concerns have been ignored at COP, while the Global North reaps the rewards of climate colonialism – an ethical dilemma of culpability and responsibility which has contributed to a record trust deficit in political leaders.

Still, if we never transcend legitimate outrage, we will never bring about the change we all need. For many cultures and countries, only religion can bring about that kind of change.

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Religious leaders can gain access to hard-to-reach communities across the world. Often they are the only recognised community leaders. If given the tools – and the recognition - religious leaders could develop plans to improve climate literacy. In turn, they could convey the concerns of their community to climate policymakers, who could finally enact policies which earn the trust of billions of people across the Global South.

The UN has issued a warning that the window to take climate action is about to close. Without the social and cultural moral capital of faith leaders, who have immense influence over the opinions and behavior of billions of people, our efforts are doomed.