Pope Francis has called on rich nations to as a matter of urgency, make profound changes to tackle the climate crisis.
While also defending climate protesters and urging governments to make the forthcoming Cop28 climate summit a turning point, the pope called for “a decisive acceleration of energy transition” from fossil fuels to renewables.
He however cautioned against relying on new technology such as carbon capture and storage, which he said was “like pushing a snowball down a hill”. According to him, the world would face “the point of no return”, Without decisive action.
“Our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point,”the pope said.
His latest comments came in a “papal exhortation” published by the Vatican on Wednesday morning, a call primarily to Catholics but intended for the world. Called Laudate Deum, which translates as Praise God, the 10-page document is his first big intervention on the climate crisis for eight years.
Recall that his previous encyclical, Laudato Si, was published in 2015, shortly before the landmark Cop21 climate summit at which the Paris agreement was signed. The pope has taken a keen interest in the climate, convening oil companies and activists, and warning of a “climate emergency”, though he missed the 2021 Cop26 summit in Glasgow, which he had been expected to attend.
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Also, the pope called for “a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the western model”, but noted that he had faced opposition for his views. “[I have been] obliged to make these clarifications, which may appear obvious, because of certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic church.”
While defending the actions of climate protesters who are often negatively portrayed as ‘radicalised’, he said that they were filling a space left empty by society as a whole, which ought to exercise a healthy ‘pressure’, since every family ought to realise that the future of their children is at stake.”
The pontiff expressed hope that the Cop28 summit, to be held in Dubai this November and December, would “move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but not having the courage needed to produce substantial changes”.
He also pointed to the key role of the hosts of Cop28, noting that the United Arab Emirates was a big oil producer, noting that the country was “known as a great exporter of fossil fuels, although it has made significant investments in renewable energy sources. Meanwhile, gas and oil companies are planning new projects there, with the aim of further increasing their production.
“To say that there is nothing to hope for would be suicidal, for it would mean exposing all humanity, especially the poorest, to the worst impacts of climate change,”he said. “We can keep hoping that Cop28 will allow for a decisive acceleration of energy transition. This conference can represent a change of direction, showing that everything done since 1992 was in fact serious and worth the effort, or else it will be a great disappointment and jeopardise whatever good has been achieved so far.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
