Pope makes environmental speech just days before American visit
Wealthier nations have an “ecological debt” they must pay back to poorer countries, Pope Francis has said.
By ending food waste, cutting back on nonrenewable energy consumption and investing in sustainable development, the Holy Father said, they could help the poorer nations.
“The environment is a collective good” that everyone has the duty to protect — a duty that “demands an effective collaboration within the entire international community,” he told a group of environment ministers from countries belonging to the European Union yesterday.
The speech came three months after the pope’s environment encyclical, Laudato si’, and a week before the start of his American visit. New research by the PEW research centre suggests that some 47 per cent of American Catholics believe climate change is caused by human activity, but there is a divide between 62 per cent of Catholic Democrats believing, and just 24 per cent of Catholic Republicans.
Greater justice, the Pope said, means addressing “ecological debt,” that is, the debt richer countries owe poorer countries because of the huge trade imbalances and “disproportionate use” of natural resources wealthier countries have created. “We must honor this debt,” he told the ministers, first by “setting a good example.”
Nations must limit considerably their consumption of nonrenewable energy and provide needier countries with resources that promote sustainable development, he said. They must adopt better ways to manage forests, transport and garbage while “seriously addressing the severe problem of food waste.”
The pope encouraged countries to adopt a “circular economy,” which considers the life cycle of finite resources and develops more self-sustaining methods of production and services.
Fighting ecological degradation must be linked to solidarity and fighting poverty, he said, because the poor are more vulnerable in a ravaged environment. This, too, would entail helping poorer communities access the technology and development they need, he said.
Lastly, there needs to be greater participation in the decision-making process so that people who are often marginalized can have a voice, he said.
“On the one hand, science and technology have put unprecedented power in our hands; on the other the correct use of that power presupposes the adoption of a vision” that is more holistic and engages more people in dialogue, he said.
The world is facing a huge “cultural, spiritual and educational challenge,” the pope said. However solidarity, justice and participation are needed in order to “respect our dignity and respect creation.”
by Carol Glatz
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/09/17/rich-countries-have-an-ecological-debt-to-poorer-countries/
