On January 25, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, gave an intervention during the Security Council Open Debate on Addressing the Impacts of Climate-related Disasters on International Peace and Security.

In his remarks, Archbishop Auza echoed the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks that “climate change is the defining issue of our time,” and stressed how climate-related disasters affect rich and poor countries alike, while noting that the poorest pay the highest cost. He listed a series of recent extreme weather events, the loss of life and massive financial costs they’ve entailed, and the destabilization that has occurred due to lack of access to food and clean water and the movement of peoples. He highlighted the recent Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and said its recommendations on what it called five essential elements of a global response to climate change should be acted upon urgently, consistent with Pope Francis’ summons to ecological conversion. He finished by repeating Pope Francis’ call for a more decisive commitment on the part of States to strengthening cooperation for urgently combatting the worrisome phenomenon of global warming.

The statement can be found here.