COP21 – Paris, December 2015.
All eyes were on Paris on December 12, 2015 as diplomats who attended the COP21 (the UN Climate Change Conference) struck a consensus on the first global framework for all nations, rich and poor, to collectively address climate change.
The Paris Agreement holds nearly 200 countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to avoid the temperature rise that scientists have linked to the most dramatic impacts of a changing climate, and resulted in the worst tragedies humanity has ever experienced.
At the end of the Paris summit, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described the talks as the “most complicated, most difficult” he has ever attended. “We have entered a new era of global cooperation on one of the most complex issues ever to confront humanity,” he said of the final accord.[1]
The 32-page Paris Agreement establishes the goal of limiting global average temperature rise to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial levels, and aspires to a rise of only 1.5o Celsius. For most environmentalists, this goal is a key victory for humanity.
People made their presence felt.
As diplomats reviewed the final text line by line, more than 10,000 people lined the streets of Paris carrying red tulips and unfurling giant red ribbons along the Avenue de la Grande Armée. The peaceful rally received late approval after France barred mass assembly due to the mid-November terrorist attacks.
The “red line” action was meant to allow people to have the last word on the UN summit. Catholics, too, joined in the rally, one of the multitudes of ways by which they raised their voices in Paris besides serving as official observers, panelists, fasters, and prayer leaders.
They came to contribute to the interreligious petition led by four faithbased networks – Religions for Peace, ACT Alliance, OurVoice, and the Global Catholic Climate Movement – as well as other organizations that helped to gather over 1.8 million signatures worldwide.
The petition was presented to top UN and French officials, including President François Hollande, who thanked the group and spoke of the importance of bringing together religious leaders of all faiths to protect the world’s “common heritage.” Climate pilgrims from across the world were represented by the Philippines’ Yeb Saño, leader of the People’s Pilgrimage and an ambassador for OurVoice.
The Vatican delegation in Paris based its proposals on the ten principles[2] drawn from Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Sì” On the Care for Our Common Home that was released on June 18, 2015. Before the talks began in Paris, Pope Francis warned the world that it was approaching the “limit of suicide” on the climate issue.[3] At his Angelus greeting, one day before the deal’s adoption, he said that its implementation “will require concerted commitment and generous dedication by all” and urged that the work be continued with special attention for the most vulnerable.[4]
How much did Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sì, impact on COP21? It is hard to decipher though observers to the negotiations reported regular quoting of Pope Francis. In addition, numerous speeches by world leaders at the summit’s opening cited either Pope Francis or his Laudato Sì. More than anything, it has provided a shared, highly publicized point of reference for Catholics to present to their leaders and to draw themselves together.
Indeed, Laudato Sì is an uncomfortable encyclical because it is not satisfied simply to confront the institutional and moral issues of climate change and environmental degradation, but addresses the deeper tragedy of humanity itself. It is an overview of the environmental crisis from a religious perspective.
Until now, the dialogue on the environment has been framed mainly using political, scientific and economic language. Pope Francis now brings the language of faith into the discussion – clearly, decisively and systematically.
Common Ground. Faith and Reason.
There are those who argue that a papal encyclical on the environment has no real authority. But Pope Francis affirms that Laudato Si “is now added to the body of the Church’s social teaching” (LS 15). This encyclical draws from the experiences of peoples from around the world, citing the findings of many Episcopal conferences across the globe.
At the Vatican’s launching of Pope Francis’ 184-page encyclical last June 18, 2015, among the presenters was Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany. He was the only scientist invited to speak alongside Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamo, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church; Prof. Carolyn Woo, President of Catholic Relief Services; and Valeria Marana, a teacher from a school on the outskirts of Rome. Prof.
Schellnhuber was recently appointed a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that includes 30-40 Nobel laureates. In his presentation, he strongly affirmed: “Not the poor but the wealthy are putting our planet, and ultimately humanity, at risk. Those who profited least from the exploitation of fossil fuels and contributed least to greenhouse emissions are the hardest hit by global warming impacts, unless we strongly reduce remissions.”[5]
The German climatologist also noted the uniqueness of Laudato Si, since the encyclical “brings together two strong forces in the world: faith and reason.”[6] Furthermore, he said: “The current crisis is [not only] an environmental crisis but it is also a social crisis. These two things together pose a tremendous challenge, so only if faith and reason work together, hand in hand, can we overcome this crisis.”[7]
Affirming that the climate change occurring today is different from what the earth has experienced in the past; he showed the increase in global carbon emissions from the Industrial Age up to the present. Then came a surprising statistic about how the 60 wealthiest people on earth possess the same amount of wealth as 3.5 billion of the world’s poorest population. Thus, he disproved the belief that the increased population of the world, especially in poor countries, is the cause of environmental problems.
“This is utterly wrong,” he strongly affirmed, and demonstrated how those with high incomes contribute so much to greenhouse gas emissions, while the poor do not. “It’s not poverty that destroys the environment. It is wealth, consumption and waste. And this is reflected in the encyclical.”[8]
(To be continued.)
Kres Gabijan
Kres Gabijan Ph. D, has been a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity from 2008-2013.
[1] Brian Roewe, “After Paris Agreement, climate activists see next step in mobilizing the people” in: National Catholic Reporter. COP21 Paris, December 29, 2015. http://ncronline.org/socialtags/ climate-change Accessed: January 20, 2016.
[2] – Peter Turkson, “Catholic institutions bring ‘moral framework’ to climate change” in: News.va- Vatican Radio, 2015-09-29. www.news.va/ en/news/cardinal-turkson-catholic-institutionsbring- moral. Accessed January 20, 2016. The ten principles mentioned are the virtues and ethical principles of prudence; justice; temperance; fortitude; a commitment to protect human life and dignity; a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable; solidarity; respect for the common destination of created goods; companionship; and integral ecology.
[3] Roewe, Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] – Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Common Ground. The Papal Encyclical, Science and the Protection of Planet Earth. PIK Press Office, June 18,2015. www.pik-potsdam.de/images/common ground. Accessed January 20, 2016.
[6] Junno Arocho Esteves, “Vatican Officially Presents ‘Laudato Si’” in: ZENIT.org, June 18, 2015. http://zenit.org/articles/vatican-officiallypresents- laudato-si/ Accessed January 20, 2016.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
