Pope Francis on Thursday
called for a "transformational" agreement at the upcoming Paris
climate conference, and said it would be catastrophic if private
interests were put before the common good when reaching a deal.
In a speech at the United Nations' Nairobi office during
his first visit to Africa, Francis said he hoped an accord at
the U.N.'s Climate Change Conference (COP21), which begins on
November 30, would aim to lessen the impact of climate change,
fight poverty and respect human dignity.
"I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a global and
'transformational' agreement based on the principles of
solidarity, justice, equality and participation," Francis said.
He said the world faced "a choice which cannot be ignored:
either to improve or to destroy the environment".
Global delegations are due to convene for the summit in
Paris as the French capital is still recovering from the
November 13 terror attacks which killed 130 people.
Francis said it would be sad and even catastrophic if
business and private interests led to manipulation of the
climate talks for personal rather than common goals.
The summit represents a chance for leaders to give a "clear
signal" that the world is heading in a new direction towards an
energy system that relies minimally on fossil fuels, aims for
energy efficiency and makes use of resources with little or no
carbon content, Francis said.
Developing economic and political systems that serve their
people and respect the environment are a "realistic prospect"
rather than an "idealistic utopia", he said, and a more
responsible approach to environmental issues could be achieved
through education and training.
This would involve fostering a culture of care to replace
what Francis described as the "throwaway culture" prevalent
today that uses and discards people and resources recklessly.
He called for "an educational process which fosters in boys
and girls, women and men, young people and adults, the adoption
of a culture of care - care for oneself, care for others, care
for the environment".
The new approach should also ensure that multilateral
discussions include the views of poorer countries, and take note
of the risks faced by vulnerable parts of Africa, the pope said.
He said Africa's beauty and richness is "constantly exposed
to the risk of destruction caused by human selfishness of every
type".
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