I am with you because climate change is “a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life .
Pope
Francis has told the UN Climate Change Conference that the destruction of the
environment is an offense against God.
The
Pope, in
message delivered on his behalf by Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Parolin told world leaders gathered in the United Arab Emirates that the destruction
of the environment is a “sin that is not only personal but also
structural, one that greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most
vulnerable in our midst and threatens to unleash a conflict between generations"
Pope Francis had personally planned to
attend COP28 but he was reportedly advised not to because of an infection in
his lungs. In a message translated into several languages including Italian, English, Arabic, and Spanish
he regretted that he was not attending in person.
“I am with you because climate change
is “a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human
life” (Apostolic Exhortation
Laudate Deum, 3). I am with you to
raise the question which we must answer now: Are we working for a culture of
life or a culture of death?”
The Pope went on to deliver his heartfelt appeal "Let us choose life! Let us choose the future! May we
be attentive to the cry of the earth, may we hear the plea of the poor, may we
be sensitive to the hopes of the young and the dreams of children! We have a
grave responsibility."
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in
temperatures and weather patterns mainly caused by human actions especially
burning fossil fuels like coal, and oil and gas.
The World Meteorological report this week
said we are suffering from more extreme heat from both the land and ocean. And
that drought afflicted millions in 2023 and extreme rainfall and flooding
caused devastation to millions.
The Pope again delivered a very targeted
message saying it has now become clear that the climate change presently taking
place stems from the overheating of the planet, caused chiefly by the increase
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activity, which in recent
decades has proved unsustainable for the ecosystem.
“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 climate, run amok, is
crying out to us to halt this illusion of omnipotence. Let us once more
recognize our limits, with humility and courage, as the sole path to a life of
authentic fulfillment,” he added.
What stands in the way of this?
He answered this question by blaming
it on the divisions that presently exist among us. Yet a world completely
connected, like ours today, 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”
Self-interest vs Public Good.
The Pope said we find ourselves facing
firm and even inflexible positions calculated to protect income and business
interests, at times justifying this on the basis of what was done in the past,
and periodically shifting the responsibility to others.
“Yet the task to which we are called
today is not about yesterday, but about tomorrow: a tomorrow that, whether we
like it or not, will belong to everyone or else to no one,”
Births Not a Problem
Pope Francis dismissed attempts to
shift the blame of climate change onto the poor and high birth rates.
“These are falsities that must be
firmly dispelled. It is not the fault of the poor, since the 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.”
He said the poor are the real victims
of what is happening.
“We need to think only of the plight
of indigenous peoples, deforestation, the tragedies of hunger, water and food
insecurity, and forced migration. Births are not a problem, but a resource:
they are not opposed to life, but for life, whereas certain ideological and
utilitarian models now being imposed with a velvet glove on families and
peoples constitute real forms of colonization” he advised.
Don’t Punish the Poor
The development of many countries,
already burdened by grave economic debt, should not be penalized; instead, we
should consider the footprint of a few nations responsible for a deeply
troubling “ecological debt” towards many others.
The
Pontiff also said the development of many countries,
already burdened by grave economic debt, should not be penalized; instead, we
should consider the footprint of a few nations responsible for a deeply
troubling “ecological debt” towards many others.
“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.”
The
Holy Father went on to say “Please” let us move forward and not turn back.
He said it is well-known that various
agreements and commitments “have been poorly implemented, due to the lack of
suitable mechanisms for oversight, periodic review and penalties in cases of
non-compliance
“You are responsible for crafting
policies that can provide
concrete and cohesive responses, and in
this way demonstrate the nobility of your role and the dignity of the service
that you carry out”
History will be grateful to you.
He suggested that good politics would
be the ultimate remedy in societies that are sadly divided into “fan bases”,
between prophets of doom and indifferent bystanders, radical environmentalists
and climate change deniers…”
“It is useless to join the fray; in
this case, as in the case of peace, it does not help to remedy the situation,”
