Eco- Congregation Ireland (ECI) is delighted to welcome Pope Francis’ new encyclical Laudate Si, which deals with humanity’s destruction of the environment and, in particular, the challenge of climate change.
ECI Chairman, the Ven Andrew Orr, says: “We believe this could be a very important moment in the global community’s response to the threat of environmental catastrophe.
“Pope Francis makes clear that responding to climate change is a moral issue as well as a scientific one. Without hesitation he accepts the findings of 99% of climate scientists: that humanity is the main driver of climate change, and in particular the ‘reckless’ burning of fossil fuels. He calls on the world to quickly find alternatives to coal and oil, and reminds us all that this is a matter of justice as well as care for the earth: ‘developing countries …. continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future’.
“We welcome his recognition that to date international talks have failed to achieve much and his hope for a much stronger response at the COP21 UN Climate Summit that will take place in Paris in December.
“We echo his call to the world to ‘seize this narrow window of opportunity’.”