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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

1st December 2011

Climate Change: Protecting Creation

At the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on Sunday 27 November, Pope Benedict XVI made a special appeal in support of an agreement at the Durban Conference on Climate Change. The Pope said: “Tomorrow in Durban, South Africa, work begins at the UN Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. I hope that all members of the international community will reach an agreement which is responsible, credible and supportive in the face of this worrying and complex phenomenon, taking account of the needs of the poorest populations and of future generations.”

This is a significant announcement on the eve of Durban. There may have been some confusion as to exactly where the Holy See stands on the issue, partly because different views have been expressed at various times by some senior Churchmen. But Pope Benedict himself has been consistent on the environment. His critique of global capitalism is based at least in part on the damage done to the planet by existing economic and development models. He was also positive about British engagement in the climate change debates when I met him to present my credentials last September. His words last Sunday serve not only as an appeal to the parties negotiating at COP17, but also as a clear message to the wider Church.

Reinforcing the Pope’s public message, Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga Rodriguez, President of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican’s umbrella organisation for 165 Catholic NGOs, made a statement before departing for Durban with Caritas’s own 20-strong team, which will support the Holy See’s delegation. Cardinal Maradiaga said: “Our climate is changing. Caritas organizations are responding to increasing unpredictability and extreme weather conditions experienced around the world. […] Urgent action is necessary. Climate negotiators in Durban must not further delay agreeing to international legislation to curb the threat of climate change and set the world on a path to a more just and sustainable future”.

The United Kingdom welcomes the sense of urgency expressed in these words. It is essential that Durban can demonstrate that there is genuine forward motion in our collective efforts to tackle one of the gravest existential threats humanity has faced in its history. If we do nothing, climate change and its effects, which may at present seem on a distant horizon, will be affecting us sooner than we imagine.

1 comment on “Climate Change: Protecting Creation

  1. Thanks very much for this Nigel, the Pope has been especially clear and focussed on this issue. His appeal has also been to the whole of humanity to take up the challenge and be prepared for a lifestyle revolution. These words are again a welcome step along the way to a more just and humane future. It is one of the paradoxes of humanity that this is being bought into focus by imminent climate chaos which we have caused.

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About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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