This Wednesday, Pope Francis published an Apostolic Exhortation – a papal document of a pastoral nature – related to his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, which addressed the planet’s environmental problems. Eight years later, the Pope speaks out against climate change deniers and points to the consequences of the “climate crisis,” such as the increase in the number and intensity of extreme phenomena. In addition to once again pointing out fossil fuel companies, Pope Francis criticizes the response of governments and the various climate summits to this global problem. “The necessary transition to clean energies such as wind and solar and the abandonment of fossil fuels does not have the necessary speed,” emphasizes the Pope.
Bergoglio explains in his text that there is not enough response while “the world that welcomes us is falling apart and perhaps approaching a breaking point.” So he draws his attention to it at the beginning of a new apostolic exhortation, which has been part of the teaching of the Church since its publication and which bears the title Laudate deum.
This first encyclical from Pope Francis was published in June 2015 and gave a boost to international climate negotiations. Because it came to light at a historic international summit a few months before the conclusion of the Paris Agreement, which has since then been a treaty regulating international efforts to combat climate change.
In 2015, the Pope clearly sided with science when he spoke of the “consensus” on human-caused climate change. Now the Pope is once again siding with science by using the term “climate crisis” and adopting, virtually point by point, the conclusions of the last major review of knowledge about global warming by the IPCC, the United Nations body of experts.
A researcher from the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development recovered dead dolphins from Lake Tefe of the Solimoes River, affected by high temperatures and drought, on October 2 in the state of Amazonas (Brazil). BRUNO KELLY (Portal)
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“No matter how hard they try to deny, hide, cover up or relativize, the signs of climate change are there and are becoming increasingly clear,” says Pope Francis’ text. And he adds: “The human – anthropic – origin of climate change can no longer be doubted,” he adds, striking down the deniers. The entire text makes it clear how the head of the Catholic Church attacks the climate denier and in doing so completely distances himself from the theses of the international extreme right. He cites, for example, how they sometimes try to “ridicule” science by claiming that “there have always been and will be periods of cooling and warming on the planet.” “You forget to mention another relevant fact: that what we are now confirming is an unusual acceleration of warming, at such a rate that a single generation – not centuries or millennia – is enough to confirm it,” counters he.
In his letter, the Pope defends “multilateralism,” but also criticizes the fact that the recent climate summits did not represent the necessary change of course. “Today we can continue to confirm that the agreements have been poorly implemented, failing to establish adequate control mechanisms, regular reviews and sanctions for non-compliance,” he claims. “International negotiations cannot progress significantly due to the positions of countries that put their national interests above the global common good. Those who will suffer the consequences that we try to hide will remember this lack of awareness and responsibility,” he warns.
This update to this 2015 encyclical comes two months before the annual climate summit to be held in Dubai this year. The Pope reminds in his text that the host, the United Arab Emirates, is a country “that is characterized by being a major exporter of fossil energy, although it has made important investments in renewable energies.” And he warns : “Oil and gas companies want new projects there to further expand production.”
At this summit in Dubai, the almost 200 participating countries must take stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The Pope reminds in his text that “despite so many negotiations and agreements, global emissions continued to rise.” “It can be said that without these agreements they would have grown even more. But in other issues related to the environment, when the will was present, very significant results have been achieved, such as the protection of the ozone layer (…) “On the other hand, the transition that is necessary is towards clean energies, such as z “Because wind and sun, which do not use fossil fuels, do not have the necessary speed,” he warns, once again relying on science. “Consequently, there is a risk that what is being done will be interpreted as just a diversionary game.”
Irreversible effects
“Some manifestations of this climate crisis have been irreversible for at least hundreds of years, such as the rise in global ocean temperatures, their acidification and the decline in oxygen levels,” the text says again, confirming the IPCC’s conclusions. “The melting of the poles will not be reversed for hundreds of years,” he adds.
Although the Pope rejects “apocalyptic diagnoses,” he maintains that one “cannot ignore that the possibility of reaching a critical point is real.” “Small changes can lead to larger, unforeseen and potentially irreversible changes,” he warns. And he gives some examples of the tipping points that are being exceeded or are about to be exceeded: the retreat of ice, changes in ocean currents, the deforestation of tropical forests, the melting of permafrost in Russia…
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