Pope Francis, who disappeared yesterday, Easter Monday, undoubtedly leaves us a profound legacy also on the environmental front. Guide of the Catholic Church since 2013, after the resignation of Benedict XVI, he held the role of Pontiff for over a decade, and his was one Clear and courageous voice also on the dangers of climate change.
In fact, it has tried to shake the consciousness of 1.3 billion Catholics in the world, denouncing the devastating impact of the climatic crisis, especially on the poorest and most vulnerable bands of the global population.
Pope Francis was a prominent figure of human dignity and an unshakable global sample of the action for the climate as a vital means to make it, said the head of the United Nations for the climate Simon Stiell.
At the top of the climate world
It is no coincidence that Pope Francis published Laudato Si in a crucial moment in 2015, before the United Nations summit on the climate, the COP21, in Paris. And then, his is a subsequent exhortation, or official declaration: the Laudate Deumreleased in October 2023, just before another United Nations summit on the climate, the Dubai Cop28.
Have the decisions of these global meetings changed due to the influence of Pope Francis? Well, potentially yes. In the Laudate DeumPope Francis showed both encouragement and a certain frustration for the results of the international agreements obtained so far.
We talked about it here: Pope Francis against climatic denial and fossil companies: what his exhortation “Laudate Deum” says
Replied the weakness of international politics and stressed that the COP21 represented a “significant moment “ Because the agreement involved everyone.
After the COP21, it highlighted that most of the nations failed to implement the Paris agreement which provided to limit the increase in global temperature in this century below 2 ° C, just as it has not lost time to report the lack of monitoring these commitments and the consequent political inertia. He did his best to use his important position to ask for account in power.
In defense of indigenous populations
The Cop28 scored the first time that almost 200 countries agreed to abandon fossil fuels. The interventions of Pope Francis probably contributed to moving a later the balance in the desired direction.
His emphasis on listening to the natives may have influenced these meetings. And, in fact, compared to previous global climate leaders, the COP28 perhaps has more than all the conferences offered the opportunity to listen to the voices of the indigenous populations.
However, indigenous populations are still disappointed by the results of the COP28. The least known exhortation of Pope Francis Querida Amazonia, which means “beloved Amazon”, was published in February 2020 as a result of his conversations with the Amazonian communities and helped to highlight the indigenous perspectives. These perspectives have contributed to shaping Catholic social doctrine in the encyclical brothers all, published on October 3, 2020.
Has inspired activism
During a multidisciplinary research project at the University of Manchester, dedicated to the link between religion, theology and climate change, several religious activists were confronted for the climate belonging to different churches of the United Kingdom. One of the central questions asked to over 300 activists, representatives of six different groups, was: “Who has most inspired you to act for climatic justice?” The answer was surprising, but at the same time revealing: the 61% indicated Pope Francis as a key figure in his own path of activism.
The impact of the pontiff, in particular precisely through the encyclical Laudato yeshas exceeded the borders of the Vatican, giving life to a real global movement. The movement Laudato yesIn fact, to date It brings together over 900 Catholic organizations all over the world and can count on a network of 10,000 entertainersactive figures that act as ambassadors and leaders of change within their communities.
We still don’t know who the next Pope will be, nor if he collects the inheritance green of Pope Francis. But in an era marked by political crisis and the resistance to take the climatic emergency seriously, our wish is that the spiritual guide of the future continues to support the change, trying to influence – as far as possible – the policies from below up to the highest decision -making levels.
