Pope Francis for creating a global fund to “end hunger” and combat climate change financed with “money used for weapons and other military expenses.”
In a communication to the 28th United Nations climate change conference (COP28), read by the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, Francis also calls for the so-called climate summit to be “a turning point” for “a decisive acceleration towards the ecological transition”. and that the poorest countries, responsible for “only 10% of polluting emissions” and “victims” of climate change, should not be blamed.
“With the money that is used for weapons and other military expenses, let us create a global fund to end hunger once and for all and to carry out activities that promote the sustainable development of the poorest countries, to combat climate change,” he claimed. The Pope, who will not be able to be present at COP28, which will be held in Dubai until December 12, due to lung inflammation.
“How much energy is humanity wasting in the numerous ongoing wars, in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and in many regions of the world,” the Pope asked.
Francisco, who asked about “how many resources are wasted on weapons,” stated that these conflicts “do not solve problems, but rather increase them” and “destroy lives and ruin our common home.”
The Pope pointed to “multilateralism” as a solution, both in the protection of the environment and in the search for peace, considering that these are “the most urgent issues and are related to each other.”
The Vatican head of state recalled the steps taken in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992, and in Paris, in 2015, but warned that “now it is urgent to relaunch the path”, which is why he stated that this COP must be “a turning point , which expresses a clear and tangible political will, which leads to a decisive acceleration of the ecological transition, through forms that have three characteristics: that they are efficient, that they are binding and that they can be easily monitored.
The path, he stated, passes through four areas: “Energy efficiency, renewable sources, elimination of fossil fuels and education for lifestyles less dependent on fossil fuels,” he listed.
Francisco recalled that we must “guarantee that the future is not denied” to the next generations and warned of the “ambition to produce”, criticizing inflexible positions, which “tend to protect their own income and that of their companies.”
Francisco’s speech did not forget “the indigenous populations, deforestation, the drama of hunger, water and food insecurity, the provoked migratory flows”, considering that “it is fair to find adequate ways to cancel the economic debt that weighs on several peoples, taking into account the ecological debt that exists in its favor”.
“It is a question of not delaying any longer, not only of wishing, but of doing good to their children, to their citizens, to their countries, to our world (…) that is what power is for, to serve (.. .), history will thank you,” he stated.
Source: TSF
