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.
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.