[1/2]Pope Francis prays for migrants and refugees, with the “Unknowing Angels” monument dedicated to the world’s migrants and refugees, behind him in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican, October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Caselli/File photo Obtaining licensing rights
ROME, Nov. 1 (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Wednesday that he will attend the United Nations climate change conference (COP28) that starts next month in Dubai, the first time a pope has attended the UN environment meeting since it began in 1995.
The Pope told Italy’s RAI TG1 state news television in an interview that he expected to be in Dubai from December 1 to 3. The conference runs from November 30 to December 12.
In Dubai, the Pope is expected to make his final call for action to reduce global warming.
“We still have time to stop it,” Francis said in the interview, speaking about global warming. “Our future is at stake, the future of our children and grandchildren. There needs to be a little responsibility.”
Pope Francis (86 years old) made environmental protection one of the hallmarks of his papacy, and last month he met with the head of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sultan Al Jaber.
In a key document released on October 4, Francis implored climate change deniers and stonewalling politicians to change their position, saying they could not overlook human causes or flout science when the planet “may be approaching breaking point.”
The document, known as the apostolic exhortation and titled Laudate Deum (Praise be to God), was a follow-up to Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment “Laudato Si” (Praise).
Laudate Deum was motivated by recent extreme weather events and mentioned the challenges facing COP28 several times.
Francis said in the document that failure in Dubai “would be a huge disappointment and would jeopardize all the good that has been achieved so far.”
Usually only heads of state attend the opening sessions of conferences and deliver keynote speeches. US President Joe Biden spoke at the beginning of the last two meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, last year and Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021. Such conferences are also occasions for holding bilateral meetings.
Reported by Philip Pullella. Edited by Diane Craft and Jonathan Oatis
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