“We have inherited a garden: we must not leave a desert to our children.”
During the meeting ‘Faith and Science: Towards Cop26’ held in the Vatican on 4th October Pope Francis, along with scientists and religious leaders, signed a document calling for the world to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as soon as possible. In the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference which takes place from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow, the meeting appealed to governments “to raise their ambition and their international cooperation to favour a transition to clean energy; adopt sustainable land use practices; transform food systems to become environmentally-friendly and respectful of local cultures; end hunger; and to promote sustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production.”
The Joint Appeal also encourages us as individuals to engage our congregations and institutions and our neighbours to build resilient and just communities which embrace sustainable lifestyles.
Pope Francis affirmed that “everything is connected in our world”, adding that science, as well as our religious beliefs and spiritual traditions, highlight the connectedness between ourselves and the rest of creation. He reiterated the importance of Openness to interdependence and sharing, the dynamism of love and a call to respect as interpretative keys that can shed light on common efforts to care for our common home.
The full text of the Joint Appeal can be found here.
To find out how you can take action you can visit the CAFOD website or sign up to the Healthy Planet Healthy People petition.