In his remarks to the United Nations COP28 on Saturday, Pope Francis said the climate has “run amok” and stressed the need for “a decisive acceleration of ecological transition.”
The pope, 86, who was unable to attend the climate change-focused conference due to lung inflammation and a mild flu, prepared a speech, which Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin delivered to attendees in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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“The drive to produce and possess has become an obsession, resulting in an inordinate greed that has made the environment the object of unbridled exploitation,” the pope said. “The climate, run amok, is crying out to us to halt this illusion of omnipotence. Let us once more recognize our limits, with humility and courage, as the sole path to a life of authentic fulfillment.”
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report found earlier this year that the 10 warmest years on record have all come since 2010 and that the rate of warming per decade since 1981 is more than twice as fast as it has been since 1880.
Francis said it is “essential that there be a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of making progress together.” He proposed that world leaders focus on energy efficiency, renewable sources, eliminating fossil fuels, and education in lifestyles less dependent on the latter.
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“The remedy is good politics: If an example of concreteness and cohesiveness comes from the top, this will benefit the base, where many people, especially the young, are already dedicated to caring for our common home,” Francis said.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris attended the conference and pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, a main finance vehicle for helping developing nations decrease fossil fuel use.
