Portal
Pope Francis said on Wednesday (1) that he would attend the COP28 climate conference starting next month in Dubai. This will be the first time that a pontiff will be present at the UN Environment Conference since this type of event began in 1995.
The pope told Italian state television RAI’s TG1 news program in an interview that he hoped to be in Dubai from December 13. The conference will take place from November 30th to December 12th in the United Arab Emirates.
“We still have time to stop this,” Francisco said in the interview about global warming. “Our future is at stake, the future of our children and grandchildren. A little responsibility is required.”
Francisco’s participation at COP28 was already expected. On October 18, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, told Portal on the sidelines of a CatholicJewish event in Rome that the pope intended to attend the conference.
The previous week, Francisco had already met with the President of COP28, Sultan alJaber.
Heads of state generally only attend the opening sessions of the COPs and then also hold bilateral meetings.
The 86yearold Francis has made protecting the environment one of the hallmarks of his papacy. In a document published on October 4, he called on climate change deniers and politicians who are reticent on the issue to change their minds.
Failure in Dubai, Francis said in the text, “will be a great disappointment and will jeopardize all the good that has been achieved so far.”
In the document, he claims that the human causes of global warming cannot be ignored and science cannot be ridiculed while the planet “may be reaching its limits.”
“We risk becoming trapped in the logic of repairing, patching and tying with wires, while beneath the surface there is a process of decay that we continue to encourage. Assuming that every future problem can be solved by new technological interventions is murderous. “Pragmatism is like kicking a snowball forward,” he argues.
“If there is a serious interest in making COP28 a historic event (…), we can only expect binding forms of energy transition that have three characteristics: those that are efficient, that are binding and that are easily controllable,” emphasized he also in the text.
The document, known as the apostolic exhortation and titled “Laudate Deum” (Praise be to God), was a followup to Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” (Praise be to God), which preceded the climate conference at which it was signed. the Paris Agreement.
The new text was motivated by recent extreme climate events and the challenges facing COP28 are mentioned several times.
Biden should not go to the COP
United States President Joe Biden is not expected to attend COP28. The information was obtained by the Portal agency from two North American authorities and another person informed about the planning of the event.
However, Biden’s agenda could still change, these sources warned. Two of them said that the final decision had not yet been made.
When asked, the White House said there was no current information on Biden’s travel plans.
Biden’s agenda consists of balanced demands amid the IsraelHamas war and a conflict with the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives over federal spending as well as a presidential campaign that is expected to gain momentum in January.
King Charles will open
Also this Wednesday, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles will give the opening speech at COP28.
It is the third time that the 74yearold British monarch, who has been committed to environmental issues for more than 50 years, will give the opening speech at the UN climate summit he has already appeared in Glasgow at COP26 and in Paris at COP21.
Charles will also attend the launch of the Business and Philanthropic Climate Forum, which will take place to coincide with COP28, the palace said.
“During his stay in the UAE, the King will take the opportunity to hold meetings with regional leaders ahead of COP28,” the statement added.