Climate
“The current situation of environmental degradation, strongly connected to the human, ethical and social degradation that we unfortunately experience daily, challenges us all, each of us with our own roles and competencies, and brings us together here with a renewed sense of awareness and responsibility”. Pope Francis wrote this in a message sent to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco and president of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), which is taking place in Marrakesh from 7 to 18 November. The Pontiff highlighted that the adoption of the Paris Agreement represents “a significant acknowledgement of the fact that, when confronted with issues so complex as climate change, the individual and/or national action is no longer sufficient, but there is a need to implement a responsible collective response truly aimed at achieving ‘cooperation to build our common home’”. On the other hand, “the prompt entry into force of the Agreement reinforces the conviction that we can and must direct our intelligence to guide technology, as well as to develop and limit our power, placing them ‘at the service of another type of progress, one that is more healthy, more human, more social and more integral’, and capable of placing the economy at the service of the human person, of building peace and justice, and of safeguarding the environment”. According to the Holy Father, “the Paris Agreement has traced a clear path along which the whole international community is called to commit itself. The COP22 represents a central stage in this path”, which “has an impact on all of humanity, particularly the poorest and future generations who are the most vulnerable to the worrisome impact of climate change, and reminds us of the serious ethical and moral responsibility we have to act promptly, in a way as free as possible from political and economic pressures, going beyond personal interests and behaviours”.
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