VATICAN (CNS): 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 28th UN Climate Change Conference [COP28].
“Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death? To all of you I make this heartfelt appeal: Let us choose life! Let us choose the future!” the pope said in his message.
“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 Pietro Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, on December 2 during the high-level segment with heads of state and government at COP28, being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12.
Pope Francis was to have been the first pope to attend the UN climate conference from December 1 to 3, but cancelled his trip on November 28 after coming down with a serious bronchial infection.
Although Cardinal Parolin read only excerpts at the summit to respect the three-minute limit on national statements, the pope’s full speech was submitted in full to the conference.
Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death? To all of you I make this heartfelt appeal: Let us choose life! Let us choose the future!
Pope Francis
“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.”
Pope Francis said, “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.” People must recognise 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.
Photo: CNS/courtesy of UN Climate Change COP28, Christopher Pike
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 per cent 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.”
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
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 colonisation.”
The pope said, “The development of many countries, already burdened by grave economic debt, should not be penalised. 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.
“We have a grave responsibility,” Pope Francis 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 development of many countries, already burdened by grave economic debt, should not be penalised. 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
Pope Francis
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.”
Pope Francis wrote, “Let us leave behind our divisions and unite our forces. 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.”
