ROME – Pope Francis on Saturday united the corona virus infection and climate change, stressing that both crises must have ethical, social, economic and political relevance.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement, the United Nations, along with Chile and Italy, reiterated its call for greater efforts to combat global warming in a video conference on Saturday at the “High Level Virtual Climate Ambition Summit” organized by Great Britain and France.
There are a number of “actions that can no longer be postponed”, including Pope’s “net zero emission strategy.”
“Current epidemic and climate change has not only an environmental relevance, but also an ethical, social, economic and political relevance and, above all, an impact on the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable,” Francis said. At the address provided in his native Spanish.
The pope expressed the Vatican’s commitment on two levels, one for the Vatican City State and one for the Holy See for its role as a global teacher.
“The Vatican City Government promises to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050,” he said, adding that by intensifying environmental management efforts that have been in place for several years to implement the rational use of natural resources such as water and energy and energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, deforestation and the economy. There is also waste management. ”
Second, “Holy See is committed to promoting education for the comprehensive environment,” Francis said. “Political and technological activities must be integrated into an educational process that promotes a cultural model of development and sustainability centered on brotherhood and the alliance between human beings and the environment.”
“Of course the time has come for a change,” he said. “Do not rob the new generation of hope for a better future.”
This week, Cardinal Peter Durksen, head of the Vatican’s human development department, delivered a similar message on a webinar in preparation for the summit on Saturday, warning that “we are heading for three degrees of global warming.”
In its preparatory document for the Webinar, the Vatican panel criticized the lack of initiative and commitment surrounding the Paris climate goals, but expressed hope that after President Trump expelled the United States from the agreement in 2017, Biden could breathe new life into the flag-raising agreement.
Since the start of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Cardinal Durksen has declared that “our planet and our people are increasingly sick,” reinforcing the Pope’s call for “climate change.”