In New City’s April-May 2020 issue, Filipina economist Annette Pelkmans-Balaoing put a spotlight on “Health as a Global Public Good.” Gio Francisco, a Focolare youth, attempts to provide a sequel to that article, this time emphasizing on another global public good – the climate – on the 5th anniversary of Laudato Si’.
“The climate is a common good – belonging to all and meant for all.”[1] This is how Pope Francis described the climate in his encyclical Laudato Si’ exactly five years ago. It is a letter of the Holy Father on ‘care for our common home.’
First, let’s try to understand: what is a global public good? Kaul and Mendoza (2003) define this as “goods with benefits and/or costs that potentially extend to all countries, people, and generations… they are public as opposed to private; and they are global as opposed to national.”[2] Our planet is our common home. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that the climate is something that we share, and what one does to it affects not only himself but also everyone and everything on the planet. Over the years, we’ve seen how this is true.
Global Warming
In ancient times, the environment was treated with great reverence. We see this in the early civilizations that existed. And back then, there was already a belief that human activity can alter the weather. For example, historians say that the early Greeks believed that chopping down trees can influence rainfall. In the 1800s, some studies already proposed the idea that global warming was possible. This would start to intensify in the 1930s when an English engineer, Guy Stewart Callendar, presented his findings. He compiled measurements of temperature from the 19th century up to his time whereby he concluded that for fifty years, there was an increase in global temperatures which was caused by an increase in carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide concentration increased by more than a third since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-1700s. At first, the findings were not well accepted but as time went by, more scientific studies came up supporting the theory on global warming. During the later part of the 20th century, a consensus among the scientific community emerged that the increased concentration of greenhouse gases does contribute to the rise in global temperature.
Pope Francis notes, “A true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global north and south, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment, and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time. The export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialized north has caused harm locally, for example, in mercury pollution in gold mining or sulfur dioxide pollution in copper mining. There is a pressing need to calculate the use of environmental space throughout the world for depositing gas residues which have been accumulating for two centuries and have created a situation that currently affects all countries of the world. The warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming. There is also the damage caused by the export of solid waste and toxic liquids to developing countries, and by the pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in the countries in which they raise their capital.”[3]
Scientists have already warned about rising global temperatures long ago, but did humanity heed the warning seriously since early studies proved it to be? I’ll let you answer that one. What is clear now is that global warming is real, and we are living witnesses to it. But we’re not just witnesses who watch from the balcony. Definitely not. We’re on ground zero! Therefore, there’s something we can do about this!
The Pandemic and Climate Change
The pandemic has forced many of us to be under quarantine – schools were closed, business operations were also suspended, transportation was limited and so were our movement and our activities. It’s like the Earth came to a standstill. Since the first weeks of the quarantine, we have already had news of improving air quality in urban areas here in the Philippines. A mountain can now be seen from a city in Metro Manila which wasn’t possible before. Just as Prof. Pelkmans-Balaoing said in her article in New City’s April-May 2020 issue, this pandemic has exposed all the more what is already a fact. In this case, it’s how we human beings have an impact on our climate. So, what’s the solution? That we continue limiting human activity and remain in quarantine even after this pandemic? No. Pope Francis offers a proposal: “Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production, and consumption, to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it.”[4] It’s not about stopping our movement but about rethinking our activities. We have to realize that climate change which we are experiencing now is not just a single-faceted problem that concerns the environment. This takes a heavy toll on our health and economy as well. For example, when I travel from my house to my workplace, it would seem like wearing cloth masks to cover the nose and mouth has become the new fashion trend. However, we’re not wearing it to be fashionable, but because we are aware of how bad air quality is and how inhaling airborne pollutants can cause respiratory illnesses.
In an event hosted by the Economy of Communion (EoC) in the Philippines around 4 years ago, I heard one presentation where they said that there is a need to build sustainable and ethical businesses that consider three P’s – profit, people, and planet. I was impressed knowing how this shift in mindset is growing among businessmen who are now also taking into account the planet in their business activities which wasn’t the case way, way back. If you remember, I mentioned earlier how carbon dioxide emissions have increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution.
Let’s start looking at ourselves then and ask how we as individuals are contributing to this? What is our role on this earth? The creation mandate to “have dominion over the earth” (cf. Gen 1:28) does not mean taking over the earth as masters but must be interpreted as “responsible stewardship.”[5] We need to change not only our lifestyles but also engage in an “ecological conversion,” “whereby the effects of [our] encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in [our] relationship with the world around [us]. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”[6]
Ecological Conversion
What does an “ecological conversion” entail? Two things: “gratitude and gratuitousness, a recognition that the world is God’s loving gift, and that we are called quietly to imitate his generosity in self-sacrifice and good works” and “a loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in a splendid universal communion. As believers, we do not look at the world from without but from within, conscious of the bonds with which the Father has linked us to all beings.”[7]
If we continue on the path of “ecological debt” now, there might not be a future to look forward to anymore. What we need to engage in now is this “ecological conversion”. A worldwide problem such as climate change requires a global solution – the whole world should be passionately working for it, together. Humanity’s common home is everybody’s concern. Therefore, working on it together requires dialogue. In fact, it is something that, unconsciously at times, brings us together. Next to interfaith prayer, another usual activity done together by people of various faiths is related to nature such as tree planting and clean-up drives. Pope Francis also mentioned this in his encyclical: “The majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers. This should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity. Dialogue among the various sciences is likewise needed…”[8] He even appealed for a new form of dialogue, one that is inclusive and all-embracing, “We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, as well as its human roots, concern and affect us all.”[9]
The spirituality of unity can contribute to help humanity undergo an “ecological conversion.” The first key point of the spirituality which is God-Love is linked to this. Chiara Lubich said, “Recognizing that we are all loved by God the Father, we also recognize that He created the trees around us, the sky over us… And so we feel a certain relationship with creation.”[10] Another key point calls for love for Jesus Forsaken on the cross of which Chiara said, “…in seeking to save the natural environment, I am loving Jesus Forsaken.”[11] The Christian Art of Loving, when expanded towards the whole of creation, not just towards our fellow human beings, can offer a soul towards our actions. Let’s try to go over some points of this Art of Loving to see how they can be applied in this ecological conversion. Love everyone, but also everything that God created – the trees, the animals, the soil. See Jesus in the other – to also see Him in that aloe vera plant since it is in creation that God manifests Himself. Chiara Lubich said, “To plunder or desecrate nature is, in effect, desecrating Jesus.”[12] Be the first one to love – What can I do now? What can I start now to love the leaves or the ozone layer? Surely, the spirituality of unity can also contribute to dialogue needed to work on caring for our planet.
Those who try to live this spirituality of unity cannot separate themselves from this call of ecological conversion. Chiara tells us, “…our goal is to build a united world, and what does this involve if not a peaceful world? This means, of course, not only peace with God and among all peoples, but also peace with nature.”[13]
After all, how can we build a united world without thinking of future generations? If we will not do anything to contribute to the solution to climate change, to work on it while there is still time, we are depriving those who will come after us of a livable common home. Building a united world includes making sure that there is a world to live in, in unity and harmony with everyone and everything. And it starts when we recognize that climate is a global public good.
“Diciamo sì a “Laudato Si’!” (Let’s say Yes to Laudato Si’!)
Gio Francisco
[1] Laudato Si’, 23
[2] https://nautilus.org/gps/applied-gps/global-public-goods/what-are-global-public-goods
[3] Laudato Si’, 51
[4] Laudato Si’, 23
[5] Cf. Love for Creation. An Asian Response to the Ecological Crisis, Declaration of the Colloquium sponsored by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (Tagaytay, 31 January-5 February 1993), 3.3.2.
[6] Laudato Si’, 217
[7] Laudato Si’, 220
[8] Laudato Si’, 201
[9] Laudato Si’, 14
[10] Like A Rainbow series: The Natural World and Physical Life, p. 102
[11] Ibid., p. 101
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
