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Pope Francis Address to the United Nations
Framework Convention On Climate Change (COP28)
Expo City, Dubai, 2 December 2023
“May this COP prove to be a turning point”
Unfortunately, I am not able to be present with you, as I would have liked. Even so, I am with you, because time is short. I am with you because now more than ever, the future of all of us depends on the present that we choose now.
I am with you because the destruction of the environment is an offense against God, a sin that is not only personal but also structural, one that greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most vulnerable in our midst and threatens to unleash a conflict between generations.
I am with you because climate change is “a global social problem, closely linked to the dignity of human life”. I am with you to raise the question that we must answer now: Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death? To all of you I make this heartfelt appeal: Let us choose life! Let us choose the future! May we be attentive to the cry of the earth, may we hear the plea of the poor, may we be sensitive to the hopes of the young and the dreams of children! We have a grave responsibility: to ensure that they not be denied their future.
It has now become clear that the current climate change is due to the overheating of the planet, caused mainly by the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activity, which in recent decades has proved to be unsustainable for the ecosystem. The drive to produce and possess has become an obsession, leading o an inordinate greed that has turned the environment into an object of unbridled exploitation.
The climate gone mad sounds like a warning to stop such delusions of omnipotence.
Let us once again recognize our limits, with humility and courage, as the only way to a life of authentic fulfillment.
What stands in the way? The divisions that currently exist among us.
Yet a world as fully connected as ours today should not beleft unconnected by those who govern it, with international negotiations that cannot make significant progress becauses of the positions taken by countries that place their national interests above the global common good.
We find ourselves confronted with firm and even inflexible positions aimed at protecting incomes and business interests, sometimes justifying this on the basis of what has been done in the past, and periodically shifting the responsibility to others. But the task to which we are called today is not about yesterday, but about tomorrow: a tomorrow that, whether we like it or not, will belong to everyone or else to no one.
Births are not a problem
The attempts to blame the poor and high birth rates are particularly striking. These are falsehoods that must be firmly rejected. It is not the fault of the poor, since the almost half of our world that is more needy is responsible for barely 10% of toxic emissions, while the gap between the opulent few and the masses of the poor has never been so abysmal.
The poor are the real victims of what is happening: we need think only of the plight of indigenous peoples, deforestation, the tragedies of hunger, water and food insecurity, and forced migration.
Births are not a problem, but a resource: they are against life, but for life, while certain ideological and utilitarian models now being imposed with a velvet glove on families and peoples constitute real forms of colonization. Rather than penalizing the development of many countries already burdened by heavy economic debt, we should consider the footprint of a few nations responsible for a deeply troubling “ecological debt” towards many others.
It would only be fair to find appropriate ways to repay the financial debts owed to various peoples, not least in light of the ecological debt owed to them.
What is the way out of this? – It is essential to rebuild trust.
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to address you, as brothers and sisters, in the name of the common home in which we live, and to ask this question: What is the way out of this?
It is the way that you are following these days: the way of togetherness, of multilateralism.
Indeed, “our world has become so multipolar and at the same time so complex that we need a different framework for effective cooperation.
It is not enough to think only in terms of balances of power… It is a matter question of establishing global and effective rules. In this regard, it is disturbing that global warming has been accompanied by a general cooling of multilateralism, a growing lack of trust within the international community, and a loss of a shared sense of being … a family of nations. It is essential to rebuild the trust that is the foundation of multilateralism. This is true for the care for creation, but also for peace.
These are the most urgent issues and they are closely linked.
How much energy is humanity wasting on the numerous wars that are currently raging, such as those in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and in many parts of the world: conflicts that do not solve problems, but only increase them!
How many resources are wasted on weapons that destroy lives and devastate our common home!
I make this proposal once again: With the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us create a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and carry out works for the sustainable development of poorer countries and for combating climate change..
It is up to this generation to heed the cry of peoples, the youth and the children, and to lay the foundations of a new multilateralism. Why not start right here in our common home? Climate change signals the need for political change. Let us move beyond the narrowness of self-interest and nationalism, which are approaches of the past. Let us collectively embrace an alternative vision: this will help bring about an ecological conversion, for there is no lasting change without cultural changes.
In this regard, I would like to assure you of the commitment and support of the Catholic Church, which is deeply committed to the work of education and to encouraging the participation of all, as well as to promoting healthy lifestyles, since everyone is responsible and everyone’s contribution is fundamental.
Brothers and sisters, it is essential that there be a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of moving forward together. The fight against climate change began in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the 2015 Paris Agreement represented a new beginning.
Now it is time for a new beginning. May this COP prove to be a turning point, demonstrating a clear and tangible political will, that can lead to a decisive acceleration of the ecological transition through means that meet three requirements: they must be binding and easily verifiable.
And they must be implemented in four sectors: energy efficiency; renewable energy sources; the elimination of fossil fuels; and education in lifestyles that are less dependent on them.
Please, let us move forward and not turn back.
It is well known that various agreements and commitments have been poorly implemented, due to the lack of adequate mechanisms for monitoring, periodic review and penalties for non-compliance. Now is the time to stop deferring and start ensuring, not just talking about, the well-being of your children, your citizens, your countries, and our world. You have the responsibility to create policies that can provide concrete and coherent responses, and in so doing demonstrate the nobility of your role and the dignity of the service you perform. After all, the purpose of power is to serve.
It is useless to cling to an authority that will one day be remembered for its inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so. History will thank you. As will the societies in which you live, which are sadly divided into “fan bases”, between prophets of doom and indifferent bystanders, radical environmentalists and climate change deniers… It is useless to join the fray; in this case, as in the case of peace, it does not help to remedy the situation. The remedy is good politics: if an example of concreteness and cohesion comes from the top, this will benefit the base, where many people, especially the young, are already committed to caring for our common home.
May the year 2024 mark this breakthrough.
I like to think that a good omen can be found in an event that took place in 1224.
That was the year Francis of Assisi composed his Canticle of the Creatures.
At the time, Francis was completely blind, and after a night of physical suffering, his spirit was lifted by a mystical experience. He then turned to praise the Most High for all those creatures whom he could no longer see, but knew to be his brothers and sisters because they came from the same Father and were shared with other men and women. An inspired sense of fraternity thus led him to transform his pain into praise and his weariness into renewed commitment. Shortly thereafter, Francis added a stanza praising God for those who forgive, in order to successfully resolve an unseemly conflict between the civil authorities and the local bishop. With the heartfelt urgency of a prayer, I too, who bear the name of Francis, would like to leave you with this message:
Let us leave behind our divisions and unite our forces! And with God’s help, let us emerge from the dark night of wars and environmental destruction to transform our common future into the dawn of a new and radiant day. Thank you.
