COP28, the annual conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, ended this week. The Vatican’s voice for creation and all who share it was heard throughout the negotiations.
Interventions of Pope Francis
Before the summit began, Pope Francis met Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28, and urged him to promote swift and ambitious action. A Vatican News interview with Sultan Al Jaber is available here.
In the opening days of the conference, Pope Francis delivered a compelling message to world leaders through Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The papal statement was a strong reminder of the need to stop environmental destruction, an “offence against God” that “greatly endangers all human beings.” The statement called for the “elimination” of fossil fuels.
Midway through the summit, a video message from Pope Francis opened the Faith Pavilion, an initiative that brought together leaders from many faiths at the summit. Watch the video message here.
Delegation of the Holy See
Throughout, the Holy See delegation to COP28, which was led by the Secretary of State and supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Human Development, focused on real, concrete change to protect the most vulnerable of our sisters and brothers.
The delegation called for COP28 to be a turning point for concrete measures to end the fossil fuel era, and for equity between the wealthy nations that are largely responsible for the crisis and the vulnerable nations that largely bear its burden to guide the negotiations.
Read more about the work of the delegation here.