The United Arab Emirates is currently hosting the COP28 International Summit. A meeting that focuses its objectives on the difficult negotiations for the gradual abandonment of some types of fuels.
198 countries are participating in this meeting with the mission of outlining social and economic measures and actions to achieve a transition to other renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric or geothermal energy. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, urged the international community to eradicate fossil fuels in his opening message.
The Pope was scheduled to attend, but - as is well known - he cancelled his participation a few days ago due to health problems. Neither the President of the United States, Joe Biden, nor the leader of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, countries that together generate 40% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, were present.
Although the pontiff does not attend personally, he has not wanted to leave behind his interest and attention to these problems. Proof of this are some of the latest messages he has shared on the social network X: "Now we are asked to take responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind after our passage through this world. If we do not react now, climate change will increasingly damage the lives of millions of people".
The Pope also sent a video message to this meeting, in addition to the address delivered by Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, who heads the Holy See Delegation - already present in Dubai during COP28 - and who inaugurated, together with Cardinal Ayuso, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Faith Pavilion, the Holy See's pavilion at the conference.
Cardinal Parolin has not hidden his regret at the impossibility of having the Pope present at Saturday's scheduled bilateral meetings with several heads of state and government present at the event. "There were many political personalities who wanted to see the Pope," the cardinal revealed before traveling to Dubai. "At the heart of the Pope - has assured the Secretary of State - is the awareness of the need to act for the care of the common home, the urgency of courageous positions and a new impetus to local and international policies so that man is not threatened by partisan, short-sighted or predatory interests."
As is well known, COP28 is called upon to provide a clear response from the political community to decisively address the current climate crisis within the urgent timeframe indicated by science.
The Pope - in Parolin's words - explains that "with the passage of time... we do not react sufficiently, as the world that welcomes us is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point."
Not only do scientific studies highlight the serious impacts of climate change caused by anthropogenic behavior, but it is now a daily occurrence throughout the world to witness extreme natural phenomena that seriously affect the quality of life of a large part of the human population.
