Pope Francis and the world’s religious leaders have called on governments across the globe to raise their ambitions ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow warning there could be just a decade left to restore the planet.
“We have inherited a garden: we must not leave a desert to our children,” states the appeal, signed by the Pope and around 40 faith leaders.
Francis joined with religious leaders and scientists in the Vatican on this morning, where he handed over the joint declaration to a British government minister, Alok Sharma, the President of COP26, and Luigi di Maio, Italy’s Foreign Minister. The UK and Italy are joint hosts of the COP summit.
The appeal, which calls on the world to achieve net-zero carbon emissions “as soon as possible”, was presented to the politicians during a one-day event organised by the UK and Italian embassies to the Holy See titled “Faith and Science: Towards COP26”.
Along with the Pope, it brought together the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb and representatives of Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism and Jainism. They were also joined by scientists who had helped draft the declaration.
“We appeal to governments to raise their ambition and their international cooperation…scientists have warned us that there might be only one decade left to restore the planet,” it reads.
All governments, the leaders state, “must adopt a trajectory that will limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” and that “those nations with the greatest responsibility and present capacity to provide substantial financial support to vulnerable countries and to agree new targets.”
During the event, which took place inside the Apostolic Palace, male and female religious leaders all agreed that it is a sacred duty, according to their faith, to take action to protect the planet.
“COP26 in Glasgow represents an urgent summons to provide effective responses to the unprecedented ecological crisis and the crisis of values that we are presently experiencing, and in this way to offer concrete hope to future generations,” the Pope explained in written remarks. He said he would not read his speech so as to save time.
Archbishop Welby told the gathering that “the world has just enough time to get this right”, and called for a “rapid change in taxation and trade rules that promote green activity” while the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt, urged “all young Muslims” and scholars to oppose any action that damages the environment. Quaker leader Gretchen Castle pointed out that it is “the poorest who have done the least to cause the crisis are the hardest hit.”
The morning session concluded with the ceremonial planting of an olive tree, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican Foreign Minister, encouraging participants to “enjoy some Roman tourism and good Italian food” before gathering again for further discussions Palazzo Borromeo. The archbishop said the leaders’ COP26 appeal showed the need for “change and transformation” while on Sunday 3 October told the BBC Radio 4 Sunday programme that it was designed to “impact world leaders and raise their ambitions” at what is a “turning point” of human history.
Over the last eight-and-a-half years Francis has made protection of the planet a hallmark of his pontificate, pushing privately and publicly for world leaders to take action and pledging to make the Vatican net-zero by 2050. Speaking to a group of young economists and entrepreneurs on Saturday 1 October, the Pope told them: “You are perhaps the last generation that can save us: I am not exaggerating.”
Today’s event took place on the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the saint renowned for his care of the natural world and the Pope’s namesake. The Roman Pontiff used a line from a poem written by the 11th-century friar as the title of his 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato si’ while timing its publication to create maximum impact on the Paris COP summit which led to a landmark deal to reduce carbon emissions. Following the Paris summit, it was reported that Francis intervened at a crucial moment to ensure the Paris deal got over the line.
The Pope is due to be in Glasgow for the start of the COP summit, with details of this trip expected to be released in the coming days: the prospect of a papal visit to the summit was first reported by The Tablet earlier this year.
The 4 October declaration underlines the willingness of religious leaders to work together to tackle climate change. It follows last month’s joint appeal by the Pope, Archbishop Welby, and Patriarch Bartholomew for action to be taken to protect the environment, which is the first time that the three Christian leaders have issued a joint statement.
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