The Pope goes green

Jan 19th, 2010 3:53 PM UTC
By Kara Arsenault

In a speech last week to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI criticized world leaders for failing to reach a climate change agreement at Copenhagen. He said failure to act could put the future of some nations—particularly in Africa—at stake:

I share the growing concern caused by economic and political resistance to combating the degradation of the environment…I would like to stress again that the protection of creation calls for an appropriate management of the natural resources of different countries and, in the first place, of those which are economically disadvantaged. I think of the continent of Africa, which I had the joy of visiting last March during my journey to Cameroon and Angola…The Synod Fathers pointed with concern to the erosion and desertification of large tracts of arable land as a result of overexploitation and environmental pollution. In Africa, as elsewhere, there is a need to make political and economic decisions which ensure forms of agricultural and industrial production capable of respecting creation and satisfying the primary needs of all.

The Pope also noted that the environment and national security were closely linked:

How can we forget, for that matter, that the struggle for access to natural resources is one of the causes of a number of conflicts, not least in Africa, as well as a continuing threat elsewhere? For this reason too, I forcefully repeat that to cultivate peace, one must protect creation.

Pope Benedict has been dubbed the ”green pope” for his increasingly vocal concern about the need to protect the environment. Under his watch, the Vatican has installed solar panels and joined a reforestation project in Europe. To read the Pope’s entire speech, click here.

TAGS: Climate and Development