Pope Francis warns planet 'is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point' as he urges climate action
On August 9, 2023, a snapshot of Pope Francis was taken in the Vatican City.
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On Wednesday, Pope Francis gave a clear warning about the consequences of climate change. He stated that "our planet is in great danger and we could be close to a catastrophic tipping point."
In a document referred to as Laudate Deum, which means Praise God, the pope insisted that despite any efforts made to ignore, hide, or minimize the situation, the impacts of climate change are evident and becoming more apparent.
It is undeniable that in the past few years, we have experienced various extreme weather events, frequent occurrences of abnormal high temperatures, dry spells, and other forms of distress exhibited by the Earth. These are only some of the visible signs of a latent illness that has a universal impact, as stated in the letter.
The article emphasized that the likelihood of severe weather events occurring more frequently and with greater intensity is being amplified by the climate changes caused by human activity.
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The start of the letter aims to give an overview of the current situation in 2023 and acknowledges updates after the release of the encyclical letter 'Laudato si' in 2015.
Francis acknowledged the severe consequences of climate change on people's existence. He came to the realization that our actions are insufficient, and our world might be on the verge of collapsing.
According to him, this is having an impact in various fields such as compulsory movement of people, medical care, dwellings, opportunities to obtain resources, and means of livelihood.
COP28: Fossil Fuels Vs Renewables
Francis also mentioned the forthcoming conference on climate change, COP28, set to commence in the United Arab Emirates towards the end of November.
In his written message, he depicted the UAE as a nation situated on the Persian Gulf, renowned for exporting large quantities of fossil fuels. However, the country has also allocated considerable financial resources towards developing renewable energy alternatives.
The article also pointed out that companies involved in oil and gas are still "in the process of preparing new projects in that area, in order to continue to raise their output."
The UAE faced criticism for taking over as the CO28 headship due to its significant involvement in the production of fossil fuels.
The pope expressed optimism towards the conference attendees' ability to prioritize the well-being of their future generations over brief financial interests of specific countries or corporations. He also hopes that the summit results in energy transition arrangements that are not only effective and necessary, but also enforceable and easily supervised.
He contended that the switch to sustainable energy sources and discontinuation of non-renewable ones is not proceeding swiftly enough. He also suggested that any efforts made might only be perceived as a diversion.
