Trócaire welcomes Pope Francis’ message urging global leaders to make profound changes to tackle climate crisis

Trócaire welcomes Pope Francis’ message urging global leaders to make profound changes to tackle the climate crisis, and calling on governments to make the upcoming COP28 climate conference “a turning point”.

Pope Francis called for “a decisive acceleration of energy transition” from fossil fuels to renewables, noting that progress has been too slow and “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing breaking point”.

Jane Mellett, Trócaire’s Laudato Sí’ Officer, welcomed Pope Francis’ comments stating it is a timely reminder that humans and the earth are “interdependent and connected”.

“We cannot continue to ignore the devastating impacts of the climate crisis on people in the Global South. Every day in Trócaire we see how droughts, flooding and cyclones are destroying people’s lives and pushing them further into poverty,” Ms Mellett said.

“We echo Pope Francis’s call for world leaders to take real and meaningful action at the upcoming COP28 conference. It is also important that the Irish Government makes real progress towards their commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on Overseas Development Aid by 2030. The Irish Government must also deliver on its commitment to provide an additional fund for climate finance.”

The Pope’s comments came in a papal document published by the Vatican on Wednesday morning, called Laudate Deum. It is an extended letter to “all people of good will” and is intended to teach and guide the faithful. This exhortation follows on from his encyclical Laudato Si’ which was published in 2015 and also called on the global community to act on the environmental crisis.

In his letter, Pope Francis said that the world can no longer ignore “extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth that are only a few palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects everyone.”

He added that economic powers are not interested in solving the problem, because they want “the greatest profit possible at minimum cost”.

The next Conference of the Parties (COP28) will take place in the United Arab Emirates, “a country of the Persian Gulf known as a great exporter of fossil fuels, although it has made significant investments in renewable energy sources”, he said. “Meanwhile, gas and oil companies are planning new projects there, with the aim of further increasing their production.”

If there was “sincere interest in making COP28 a historic event that honours and ennobles us as human beings, then one can only hope for binding forms of energy transition”, he said.

“May those taking part in the conference be strategists capable of considering the common good and the future of their children, more than the short-term interests of certain countries or businesses. In this way, may they demonstrate the nobility of politics and not its shame.”

Pope Francis issued a warning about the use of technology to solve the climate crisis, cautioning against relying solely on new technology such as carbon capture and storage, which he said was “like pushing a snowball down a hill”.

He used the papal letter to remind us that we all have a role to play and that everyone must get involved as we strive to transform society through our individual, family and community actions. Most importantly, we must also demand change from our political leaders, he added.

“The world sings of an infinite love, how can we fail to care for it?”

You can read the Pope’s full letter here