Galletti, pope hail Paris climate deal

(ANSA) - Bologna, December 14 - Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said Monday the merit for the historic climate change agreement was due in part to the pope and his encyclical on the need to protect the planet.
    "We brought a little bit of Pope Francis'...encyclical with us to Paris," said Galletti of the United Nations COP21 climate change conference that produced the deal signed by 196 nations at the weekend.
    "This is an agreement by all, for all, that saves everyone," Galletti said. "It will mark history for the next 85 years". The result was widely hailed as a sign of the end of the fossil fuel era as world leaders committed for the first time to a universal agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, and to hold governments accountable for reaching those targets. Scientists say the 2-degree threshold is the limit of safety, beyond which the effects - droughts, floods, heat waves and sea level rises - will become catastrophic and irreversible.
    Under the deal, developed and developing countries alike are required to limit their emissions to relatively safe levels.
    Funding will be provided to poor nations to help them cut emissions and cope with the effects of extreme weather, and countries suffering climate-related disasters will get urgent aid.
    However not all of the agreement is legally binding, so future governments of the signatory countries could still renege on their commitments.
    Back in the Vatican, the environmentally conscious Catholic pope also hailed the Paris climate change agreement.
    "Enacting it will require a collective commitment and generous dedication on the part of each and every one," said Francis, adding he hopes "special attention will be guaranteed the most vulnerable populations".