Holy See: Accession to Climate Convention and Paris Agreement

By Francesca Merlo

A statement released by the Holy See on Friday describes the Holy See's accession to the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement.

The statement reads that on 6 June, Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Permanent Observer to the UN, deposited before the Secretary-General of the United Nations "the Instrument with which the Holy See, in the name and on behalf of Vatican City State, accesses to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)."

At the earliest possible date, considering the legal requirements of the Paris Agreement, the Holy See will deposit the instrument of accession to the latter, continues the statement.

With both these instruments, to which are attached a declaration by the Holy See, "The Holy See intends to contribute and to give its moral support to the efforts of all States to cooperate, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in an effective and appropriate response to the challenges posed by climate change to humanity and to our common home" The statement notes that such challenges do not only have environmental relevance, but also ethical, social , economic and political. "They affect, above all,  the life of the poorest and most fragile", continues the statement, reiterating the Church's commitment to promoting the common good.

The statement then goes on to address a question posed by Pope Francis in his encyclical, Laudato si, in which he asks "What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?" (Laudato si’, n. 160).

The Holy See answers this question by expressing its desire that "the Convention and the Paris Agreement would help to promote "a remarkable convergence on the urgent need for a change of direction, a decisive resolve to pass from the 'throwaway culture' prevalent in our societies to a “culture of care” for our common home and its inhabitants, now and in the future."

These are two core values that must be at the basis of the implementation of both the Convention and the Paris Agreement, concludes the statement, adding, that they will "continue to guide the efforts of the Holy See in this process."