What Is the Church's View on Climate Change?

Traditionally, the worlds of religion and science have maintained a safe distance from one another. The development of theories such as the Big Bang and the evolution of mankind have been at odds with the biblical interpretation of Creation.

However, Pope Francis has taken the Church in several new directions since entering the Vatican two years ago. One of these is his embracing of scientific opinion on issues such as climate change. The pontiff is scheduled to release an encyclical (a document stating fundamental beliefs and principles) in just a few weeks’ time, with climate change believed to form one of the cornerstones.

Changing Attitudes

At the end of last month, the Pope met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the future of our environment. As part of the same meeting, the Secretary General also opened a conference in the Vatican which was entitled “The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development”.

The upcoming encyclical is expected to highlight the dangers of climate change – and, crucially, how mankind is to blame for bringing it about. In September, the Pope is also scheduled to address the UN Summit on Sustainable Development. The address is believed to lay the groundwork for the climate change summit which will take place in Paris in December.

These events are just part of a global framework of conferences, summits and meetings which will take place in a wide variety of industries and communities in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change. One such event is the international Air Quality and Emissions show, which took place last month and discussed various methods of reducing emissions and pollution. However, the fact that the Church has become involved in such meetings is a novelty.

Disgruntled Quarters

Not everyone is viewing the Pope’s intervention on climate change as a positive thing. Several climate change sceptic groups voiced their anger and disappointment that the Pope was “allowing himself to be influenced” by untrustworthy sources.

One of the loudest voices in the fight to deny climate change is the American pressure group the Heartland Institute. “The Pope would make a grave mistake if he put his moral authority behind scientists saying that climate change is a threat to the world,” said spokesperson Jim Lakely. “Many scientists have concluded that human activity is a minor player. The Earth has been warming since the end of the last Ice Age.” 

Such an assertion flies in the face of statistics, which have shown that 97% of scientific articles published in journals agree that the Earth is getting warmer – and that humans are the cause. Perhaps the Pope’s support for action will encourage the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world to sit up and take notice.