On October 4, Pope Francis released his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum, that completes his encyclical Laudato si’ published in May 2015, and is addressed “to all people of good will on the climate crisis”.
The Pope reiterates and further develops the themes from his second encyclical in which he expressed his “heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home”.
“I have realised that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.”
A word cloud showing the prevalence of terms in ‘Laudate Deum’ is pictured above.
The Pope repeatedly emphasises how the poor and the most vulnerable suffer most from the consequences of climate change, even though they are least responsible for it.
“Even if we do not reach the point of no return (1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average), it is certain that the consequences would be disastrous and precipitous measures would have to be taken, at enormous cost and with grave and intolerable economic and social effects.”
Literally everything depends on COP28 in Dubai. Specifically the Pope calls for “binding forms of energy transition that meet three conditions: that they be efficient, obligatory and readily monitored.”
The Pope will attend COP28.
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
