VATICAN CITY — The future of humanity depends on what people choose now, Pope Francis said in his message to global leaders at the World Climate Action Summit of the U.N. Climate Change Conference.
"Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death?" he asked in his message. "To all of you I make this heartfelt appeal: Let us choose life! Let us choose the future!"
"The purpose of power is to serve. It is useless to cling to an authority that will one day be remembered for its inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so. History will be grateful to you," the pope wrote.
Excerpts from Pope Francis' full written message were read by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, Dec. 2 during the high-level segment with heads of state and government at the climate conference, COP28, being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 30-Dec. 12.
Pope Francis was to have been the first pope to attend the U.N. climate conference Dec. 1-3, but canceled his trip Nov. 28 after coming down with a serious bronchial infection.
The Vatican published the pope's full speech Dec. 2, although Cardinal Parolin read only excerpts at the summit to respect the three-minute limit on national statements. The text was submitted in full to the conference.
"Sadly, I am unable to be present with you, as I had greatly desired," the pope's text said.
The destruction of the environment is "a sin" that not only "greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most vulnerable," he wrote, but it also "threatens to unleash a conflict between generations."
"The drive to produce and possess has become an obsession, resulting in an inordinate greed that has made the environment the object of unbridled exploitation," the pope wrote. People must recognize their limits, with humility and courage, and seek authentic fulfillment.
"What stands in the way of this? The divisions that presently exist among us," he wrote.
The world "should not be un-connected by those who govern it, with international negotiations that 'cannot make significant progress due to positions taken by countries which place their national interests above the global common good,'" he wrote, quoting from his 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home."
The poor and high birth rates are not to blame for today's climate crisis, he wrote. "Almost half of our world that is more needy is responsible for scarcely 10% of toxic emissions, while the gap between the opulent few and the masses of the poor has never been so abysmal. The poor are the real victims of what is happening."
As for population growth, births are a resource, he wrote, "whereas certain ideological and utilitarian models now being imposed with a velvet glove on families and peoples constitute real forms of colonization."
"The development of many countries, already burdened by grave economic debt, should not be penalized," it said. "It would only be fair to find suitable means of remitting the financial debts that burden different peoples, not least in light of the ecological debt that they are owed" by the few nations responsible for the bulk of emissions.
"The drive to produce and possess has become an obsession, resulting in an inordinate greed that has made the environment the object of unbridled exploitation." — Pope Francis
"We have a grave responsibility," the pope wrote, which is to ensure the earth, the poor and the young not be denied a future.
The solution requires coming together as brothers and sisters living in a common home, rebuilding trust and pursuing multilateralism, he added.
The care for creation and world peace are closely linked, the pope wrote.
"How much energy is humanity wasting on the numerous wars" being waged, he wrote, and "how many resources are being squandered on weaponry that destroys lives and devastates our common home!"
The pope again urged governments to divert money away from arms and other military expenditures toward a global fund to end hunger, to promote sustainable development of poorer countries and to combat climate change.
"Climate change signals the need for political change" away from narrow self-interest and nationalism, he wrote.
There must be "a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of making progress together," he wrote. There must be "a decisive acceleration of ecological transition" regarding energy efficiency, renewable sources, the elimination of fossil fuels and "education in lifestyles that are less dependent on the latter."
He promised the "commitment and support of the Catholic Church, which is deeply engaged in the work of education and of encouraging participation by all, as well as in promoting sound lifestyles."
"Let us leave behind our divisions and unite our forces," Pope Francis wrote. "And with God's help, let us emerge from the dark night of wars and environmental devastation in order to turn our common future into the dawn of a new and radiant day."
— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Pictured at top: Flags can be see inside the dome during COP28, the U.N. Climate Change Conference, at Expo City Dubai Nov. 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (CNS photo/courtesy of UN Climate Change COP28, Christophe Viseux)
U.S. bishops: COP28 must heed 'cry of the earth' and 'cry of the poor'
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U.S. bishops: COP28 must heed 'cry of the earth' and 'cry of the poor'
Efforts to meet climate goals must heed both the "cry of the earth" and the "cry of the poor," said two U.S. Catholic bishops leading committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."No government will be successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the long run if it requires a significant increase of the energy costs of middle- and low-income citizens," said Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on International Justice and Peace.
The two bishops issued a joint statement Nov. 29 ahead of COP28, the United Nations' annual meeting on climate issues.
Named for the "Conference of the Parties" that signed the original 1992 U.N. climate agreement, COP28 is taking place Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP gatherings are held under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which entered into force in 1994 and now counts 198 parties (representing 197 countries plus the European Union).
COP28 calls for a global assessment of response to the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aimed to hold the increase of average global temperatures to under 2 degrees Celsius -- and eventually to 1.5 degrees Celsius -- above pre-industrial levels.
The conference also is seeking to spark four paradigm shifts: fast-tracking energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030; establishing climate finance that is affordable, available and accessible to developing countries; centering climate action on nature, people, lives and livelihoods; and including women, local communities, Indigenous peoples, faith-based organizations and other entities in the COP process.
Pope Francis was initially scheduled to travel to Dubai to address COP28 participants, but canceled his appearance Nov. 28 as he recovers from a respiratory illness.
According to a BBC News report released the same day, air quality across the Gulf region, including in the UAE, has been significantly degraded by toxic pollutants released during flaring, the burning of waste gas during oil drilling.
In their USCCB statement, Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Zaidan quoted Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Laudate Deum" ("Praise God"), issued Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, as a follow-up to his 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home." The exhortation warned that "the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point," making climate change "one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community."
"As Pope Francis emphasized in "Laudate Deum," the climate crisis is an opportunity to reconfigure international relations toward the common good, 'demonstrat(ing) the nobility of politics,' where, as brothers and sisters all, we can achieve 'a decisive acceleration of energy transition,'" said Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Zaidan.
The bishops said that despite "tremendous growth" in the global development of renewable energy, "the global economic system remains largely powered by fossil fuels."
Weaning the world from that dependence is "the preeminent environmental challenge faced by all nations," said Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Zaidan, which they added "cannot be achieved alone through the efforts of individual persons or even nations and will require long-term cooperation by all."
In his letter to the COP parties, COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's special envoy for climate change, also stressed the need for unity as "more than ever ... a prerequisite for success."
Such unity must also offer "justice for the poor," which "constitutes an essential test of ethical climate policy," said Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Zaidan in their statement, pointing to the "3.3 billion people worldwide with limited energy and 700 million without any electricity."
"In other words, climate goals must represent both the 'cry of the earth' and the 'cry of the poor,' and include the financial support by developed nations for adaptation, resilience and recovery of the most vulnerable," they said.
In a September 2021 report, the International Monetary Fund noted that "climate risks disproportionately affect the poorest countries and people," and that climate change stands to cause greater inequality between and within countries. At the same time, the IMF report noted that "actions taken to curb warming could have an unwelcome effect on inequality, if climate policies prove too burdensome for poor countries.
"Such actions need to be complemented by measures to offset the costs on the poor and vulnerable across and within countries," it stated.
On hand at COP28 to emphasize that point is a delegation from Catholic Relief Services, the global humanitarian and development organization of the Catholic Church in the U.S.
In addition to participating in various panels and side events, CRS staff are advocating for several key policies at COP28 as outlined in its policy brief "COP28: The Case for a Quantum Leap in Climate Action."
Among the priorities for which the CRS team seeks to advance are meeting the $100 billion climate finance goal and contributing to the Green Climate Fund, the main financial operating entity under the U.N.'s climate change convention -- all while "emphasizing the moral imperative to protect the planet and support the most vulnerable," the agency announced Nov. 29.
"We believe that faith can be a powerful catalyst for environmental stewardship," said Gina Castillo, CRS' policy adviser for climate change, in a press statement. "Pope Francis, in his encyclical 'Laudato Si,' calls for an 'integral ecology' that respects both the environment and human dignity. This message is at the heart of our advocacy at COP28."
In their letter, Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Zaidan assured the "all leaders and participants of COP28" of their prayers "as they work to care for our climate."
Answers to some of those prayers may already be in sight: During COP28's first day, pledges to the Loss and Damage Fund -- which was created at COP27 to aid nations most vulnerable to changes in the climate -- reached "north of $420 million" within the first hour, COP28's president announced.
— Gina Christian, OSV News
Read more: A link to Catholic Relief Services' policy brief, "COP28: The Case for a Quantum Leap in Climate Action" can be found here: https://www.crs.org/sites/default/files/2023_11.21_cop_asks_in_template_footnotes.pdf.
Efforts to meet climate goals must heed both the "cry of the earth" and the "cry of the poor," said two U.S. Catholic bishops leading committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.