The success of the upcoming United Nations conference on climate change will hinge not only on binding agreements between governments but also on the degree to which people everywhere adopt a new consciousness and conception of their place in the world.

This is among the main themes of a statement released this week by the Baha’i International Community, which seeks to consider how “new patterns of action and interaction” can be forged between individuals, communities and governing institutions to address climate change.

Titled “Shared Vision, Shared Volition: Choosing Our Global Future Together,” the five-page document will be officially distributed next week at the conference, known as COP-21, which begins on 30 November.

“Reform of institutional structures will be critical, and indeed this is a central focus of those gathered at COP 21,” says the statement, adding however that “setting humanity on a more sustainable path to the future involves transformation in attitudes and actions.”

“Ultimately," the statement continues, “it is people, whatever their role or place in society, who implement the policies of a central administration or ignore them, who participate in well-conceived programs or continue patterns of life as before."

“We all have agency and none of our decisions are without consequence. Establishing sustainable patterns of individual and collective life will therefore require not only new technologies, but also a new consciousness in human beings, including a new conception of ourselves and our place in the world,” the statement says.

The BIC also suggests that religion itself can play a critical role in motivating such reflection and action.

“Religion offers an understanding of human existence and development that lifts the eye from the rocky path to the distant horizon. And when true to the spirit of its transcendent founders, religion has been one of the most powerful forces for the creation of new and beneficial patterns of individual and collective life,” the statement says.

The full statement can be read here.

A formatted, PDF version of the statement for download can be found here.