During his pontificate, Pope Francis included the fight against climate change among the social struggles for the most humble that he promoted.
He included the topic in many of his speeches and even dedicated an encyclical.
A few hours after his death on Monday at the age of 88, the UN Climate Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, remembered him as “an unwavering advocate for climate action“.
Pope Francis and the Fight Against Climate Change: The Pontiff’s Message
“Thanks to his tireless defense, Pope Francis reminded us that there can be no shared prosperity until we make peace with nature and protect the most vulnerable,” Stiell declared in a statement.
Social struggle. A common sight was seeing Pope Francis surrounded by children.
The Vatican had already addressed environmental issues, and Francis’ predecessor, the German Benedict XVI, was even dubbed “the Green Pope”.
But it was Jorge Bergoglio who published the first encyclical in 2015 on how to protect the planet, our “common home“.
According to the Catholicism expert Charles Mercier, quoted by the AFP agency, the encyclical “Laudato si” concluded the “project of his predecessor” with “a different approach”. The text includes references to Amazonian beliefs and non-Western elements related to nature.
“Laudato si”
“He was not only the pope of climate but also of the Amazon, of the forests, of the oceans. But above all, a pope of hope,” added Oscar Soria, Argentine activist and veteran of climate negotiations.
Even before being elected pope, Jorge Bergoglio was a pioneer in bringing these issues to the General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate held in 2007 in the Brazilian city of Aparecida.
“He was always on the side of the poorest and indigenous populations,” recalls the activist.
In 2015, a few months after “Laudato si”, a significant breakthrough was achieved during the COP21 with the Paris Agreement, whose goal is to keep the temperature increase below 2°C.
“He has been a moral compass in climate negotiations since 2015,” said Soria.
According to Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, “‘Laudato si’ was a foundational text of Christian commitment to climate action, inspiring and marking a new generation.”
The Tireless Environmental Fight
Beyond his role as a spiritual leader of millions of believers, Pope Francis stood out for his tireless defense of the environment and his call to action in the face of the climate crisis.
This article will explore Pope Francis’s environmental legacy, highlighting his commitment, actions, and the lasting impact of his message on the world.
A fundamental pillar of Pope Francis’s environmental legacy is undoubtedly his encyclical Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home, published in 2015. An encyclical is a solemn pastoral letter addressed by the Pope to the entire Catholic Church and, in this case, to all humanity. Laudato si’ stands out as an urgent call to raise awareness about the ecological crisis and to act to protect our planet.
In this encyclical, Pope Francis addresses the environmental crisis from an integral perspective, connecting environmental degradation with social injustice and economic inequality. He argues that “everything is connected” and that we cannot solve the ecological crisis without also addressing the social and economic issues that fuel it.
