Pope Francis Urges Politicians To Take Drastic Action On Climate Change
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Pope Francis has urged governments to show the “political will” to take drastic steps to deal with climate change, saying it’s time to abandon dependence on fossil fuels.
Francis issued the appeal in a message on September 1 to mark the start of several weeks of prayer by Christians to raise political awareness about pollution and exploitation of natural resources.
The pope said he wants people to reflect on “thoughtful and harmful” daily decisions about consumption.
Francis said that at the UN Climate Action Summit later this month “governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures” to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the average increase in global temperatures in line with the Paris climate accords.
He listed pollution, continued use of fossil fuels, intensive agricultural exploitation, and deforestation as being among the man-made causes of global warming and said the Amazon, where fires are raging, is “gravely threatened.”
