Protecting the environment: the Pope fills the leadership gap left by the world's politicians

The publication of the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home is of enormous significance. He has shown great wisdom and leadership. Pope Francis is surely absolutely right that climate change raises vital moral and ethical issues. It is poor people around the world who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as an intensification of extreme weather events. And the decisions that we make about managing the risks of climate change matter not only for us, but also for our children, grandchildren and future generations.

We can and should be choosing paths of economic development and growth that are sustainable and promote wellbeing and prosperity. Such paths are likely to be highly attractive in both poor and rich countries, providing a much cleaner, less polluted, more inclusive, dynamic and stronger route to overcoming poverty and raising living standards.

High-carbon economic growth harms us not just through the impacts of climate change, but also through a host of other problems, such as depletion of biodiversity, loss of forests and greater local air pollution. That air pollution is killing millions now. Moral leadership on climate change from the Pope is particularly important because of the failure of many heads of state and government around the world to show political leadership.

I hope other religious and community leaders will also speak out about how to tackle the two defining challenges of our generation, namely overcoming poverty and managing the risks of climate change. This would encourage greater political leadership in the run-up to the summit in Paris at the end of this year where countries should reach a new international agreement on tackling climate change.

We, our children and our grandchildren owe the Pope a great debt of gratitude for his encyclical. It is founded in the best science and shows the importance of ethics in public life. The economics of climate change also tells us how attractive the transition to the low-carbon economy will be.

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern is the Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, and President of the British Academy

You can find full coverage of the encylical – the politics, the spirituality, the influences and the role of St Francis of Assisi – in the 20 and 27 June issues of The Tablet.