During the international online climate summit on 12 December, Pope Francis announced that the Vatican City State is committed to reducing its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
The Pope said “the time has come for a change of course. Let us not rob the new generations of hope in a better future.”
He also told summit participants that both climate change and the current pandemic disproportionately affect the lives of the poorest and weakest in society. “In this way, they appeal to our responsibility to promote, with a collective commitment and solidarity, a culture of care, which places human dignity and the common good at the centre,” he said.
In addition to the goal of net zero emissions, the Pope said the Vatican is also committed to “intensifying environmental management efforts” that “enable the rational use of natural resources such as water and energy, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, reforestation and the circular economy also in waste management”.
The meeting marked five years since the Paris Agreement and took place ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Glasgow in November 2021.
To what commitment does this invite us personally and as a Congregation?