By Holy See Mission
STATEMENT BY HIS EMINENCE PIETRO CARDINAL PAROLIN, SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE FRANCIS, TO THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE SUMMIT 2014 SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
Mr Secretary General,
I am pleased to convey the cordial greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis to
all those here present for this important Summit, which has gathered together high
governmental and civil officials, as well as leaders from the private sector and civil
society, in order to identify significant initiatives that will address the concerning
phenomenon of climate change. It is well known that climate change raises not
only scientific, environmental and socio-economic considerations, but also and
above all ethical and moral ones, because it affects everyone, in particular the
poorest among us, those who are most exposed to its effects.
For this reason, the Holy See has often stressed that there is a moral
imperative to act, for we all bear the responsibility to protect and to value creation
for the good of this and future generations. Pope Francis, from the beginning of
his Pontificate, has underlined the importance of “protecting our environment,
which all too often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one
another’s detriment” (Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See,
22 March 2013).
The scientific consensus is rather consistent and it is that, since the second
half of the last century, warming of the climate system is unequivocal. It is a very
serious problem which, as I said, has grave consequences for the most vulnerable
sectors of society and, clearly, for future generations.
Numerous scientific studies, moreover, have emphasized that human
inaction in the face of such a problem carries great risks and socio-economic costs.
This is due to the fact that its principal cause seems to be the increase of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere due to human activity. Faced
with these risks and costs, prudence must prevail, which requires thoughtful deliberations based on an accurate analysis of the impact our actions will have on
the future. This requires a great political and economic commitment on the part of
the international community, to which the Holy See wishes to make its own
contribution, being aware that “the gift of knowledge helps us not to fall into
attitudes of excess or error. The first lies in the risk of considering ourselves the
masters of creation. Creation is not some possession that we can lord over for own
pleasure; nor, even less, is it the property of only some people, the few: creation is
a gift, it is the marvellous gift that God has given us, so that we will take care of it
and harness it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude” (Pope
Francis, General Audience, 21 May 2014).
Mr Secretary General,
The long debate on climate change, which gave rise in 1992 to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its subsequent
implementation, shows how complex this issue is. Since then until our own day,
much has changed: the dynamics of international relations have given life to
changing geopolitical contexts, while the scientific and informational technologies
have become extremely refined.
A principle element which has emerged from the more than thirty years of
study on the phenomenon of global warming is the increasing awareness that the
entire international community is part of one interdependent human family. The
decisions and behaviours of one of the members of this family have profound
consequences for the others; there are no political frontiers, barriers or walls
behind which we can hide to protect one member from another against the effects
of global warming. There is no room for the globalization of indifference, the
economy of exclusion or the throwaway culture so often denounced by Pope
Francis (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 52, 53, 59).
In the actions undertaken to counter global warming we have too often seen
the predominance of special interests or so-called “free-riders” over the common
good; we have too often noted a certain suspicion or lack of trust on the part of
States, as well as on the part of other participants. However, if we really wish to be
effective, we must implement a collective response based on a culture of solidarity,
encounter and dialogue, which should be at the basis of normal interactions within
every family and which requires the full, responsible and dedicated collaboration
of all, according to their possibilities and circumstances.
In this regard, it seems opportune to recall a concept which was also
developed within the forum of the United Nations, that is, the responsibility to
protect. States have a common responsibility to protect the world climate by means of mitigation and adaptation measure, as well as by sharing technologies
and “know-how”. But above all they have a shared responsibility to protect our
planet and the human family, ensuring present and future generations have the
possibility of living in a safe and worthy environment. The technological and
operational bases needed to facilitate this mutual responsibility are already
available or within our reach. We have the capacity to start and strengthen a true
and beneficial process which will irrigate, as it were, through adaptation and
mitigation activities, the field of economic and technological innovation where it is
possible to cultivate two interconnected objectives: combating poverty and easing
the effects of climate change.
Market forces alone, especially when deprived of a suitable ethical direction,
however, cannot resolve the interdependent crisis concerning global warming,
poverty and exclusion. The greatest challenge lies in the sphere of human values
and human dignity; questions which regard the human dignity of individuals and of
peoples are not able to be reduced to mere technical problems. In this sense,
climate change becomes a question of justice, respect and equity, a question which
must awaken our consciences.
Mr Secretary General,
The ethical motivations behind every complex political decision must be
clear. At present, this means consolidating a profound and far-sighted revision of
models of development and lifestyles, in order to correct their numerous
dysfunctions and deviations (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in
Veritate, 32). This is also needed due to the many crises which present society is
living in economic, financial, social, cultural and ethical contexts.
Within this perspective, an authentic cultural shift is needed which
reinforces our formative and educational efforts, above all in favour of the young,
towards assuming a sense of responsibility for creation and integral human
development of all people, present and future.
For its part, Vatican City State, though small, is undertaking significant
efforts to reduce its consummation of fossil fuels, through diversification and
energy efficiency projects. However, as the Holy See’s delegation at the COP-19
in Warsaw indicated, “talking about emission reductions is useless if we are not
ready to change our lifestyle and the current dominant models of consumption and
production”. The Holy See attaches great importance to the need to promote
education in environmental responsibility, which also seeks to protect the moral
conditions for an authentic human ecology. There are many Catholic educational
institutions, as well as Bishops’ Conferences, dioceses, parishes and Catholic inspired NGOs committed to this work in the conviction that the deterioration of
nature is directly linked to the culture which shapes human coexistence. Respect
for environmental ecology is a condition of, and conditioned by, respect for human
ecology in society.
Confronting seriously the problem of global warming requires not only
strengthening, deepening and consolidating the political process on a global level,
but also intensifying our commitment to a profound cultural renewal and a
rediscovery of the fundamental values upon which a better future for the entire
human family can be built. The Holy See commits itself to this end, so that, in this
work, the international community may be guided by the ethical imperative to act,
inspired by the principles of solidarity and the promotion of the common good, in
the knowledge that “the dignity of each human person and the pursuit of the
common good are concerns which ought to shape all economic policies” (Evangelii
Gaudium, 203).
Thank you.
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