Pope Francis’ full message to world leaders

“Mr President,
illustrious heads of state and government,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the name of Pope Francis, I cordially greet you all and assure you of his closeness, his support and his encouragement so that COP29 succeeds in demonstrating that there is an international community willing to go beyond particularisms and place at the center the good of humanity and our common home, which God has entrusted to our care and responsibility.

The scientific data available to us do not allow us to wait any longer and clearly show that the preservation of creation is one of the most urgent issues of our time. We must also recognize that it is closely linked to safeguarding peace.

COP29 takes place against a backdrop of growing disillusionment with multilateral institutions and growing tendencies to build walls. Selfishness – individual, national and of power groups – fuels a climate of distrust and division that does not meet the needs of an interdependent world in which we should act and live as members of the same family living in the same interconnected global village.

“The increasingly globalized society brings us together, but it does not make us brothers.” Economic development has not reduced inequality. On the contrary, it has favored the prioritization of profit and particular interests to the detriment of the protection of the weakest and has contributed to the progressive worsening of environmental problems.

In order to reverse the trend and create a culture of respect for life and the dignity of the human person, it is necessary to understand that the harmful consequences of lifestyles affect everyone, and to shape the future together to “ensure that solutions are proposed from a global perspective, and not just to defend the interests of certain countries”.

May the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” guide and inspire the work of these weeks. May historical and current responsibilities be transformed into concrete and far-sighted commitments for the future, so that a New quantified collective objective on financing the fight against climate changewhich is one of the most urgent of this Conference.

We must do everything possible to find solutions that do not further compromise the development and adaptive capacity of many countries already burdened by oppressive economic debt. As part of the debate on financing the fight against climate change, it is important to remember that ecological debt and external debt are two sides of the same coin which jeopardize the future.

With this in mind, I would like to reiterate the appeal launched by Pope Francis in view of the Ordinary Jubilee of the year 2025, addressing the richest nations “to recognize the seriousness of many decisions taken and to they decide to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. It is more a question of justice than of magnanimity, aggravated today by a new form of inequity of which we have become aware: “There is, in fact, a real ‘ecological debt’, particularly between the North and the South, linked to trade imbalances, with consequences in the ecological domain, and also linked to the disproportionate use of natural resources, historically practiced by certain countries” “.

Indeed, it is essential to seek a new international financial architecture centered on people, bold, creative and based on the principles of equity, justice and solidarity. A new international financial architecture that can truly guarantee all countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable to climate catastrophe, development paths that are both low carbon and highly shared, which allow everyone to fully realize their potential and have their dignity respected. We have the human and technological resources necessary to reverse the trend and continue the virtuous circle of truly human and inclusive integral development. Let us work together to ensure that COP29 also strengthens the political will to channel these resources towards this noble goal for the common good of humanity today and tomorrow. We must find our hope in the capacity of humanity, in the fact “that we can always set course again, that we can always do something to solve the problems.” We must hope “humanity at the beginning of the 21st century can be remembered for having generously assumed its grave responsibilities.”

I reiterate the commitment and support of the Holy See in this endeavor, particularly in the area of ​​education in integral ecology and awareness of the environmental issue as a “multifaceted human and social problem” , which requires above all a clear commitment, where the responsibility, acquisition of knowledge and participation of each person are fundamental.

We cannot “look the other way.” Indifference is complicit in injustice. I therefore ask that, with the common good in mind, we can unmask the mechanisms of self-justification that so often paralyze us: what can I do? How can I contribute?

Today, the time is no longer for indifference. We cannot wash our hands of it, remain distant, neglectful, disinterested. This is the real challenge of our century.

For each ambitious agreement, for each initiative and each process aimed at truly inclusive development, I assure you of my support and that of the Holy Father, in order to render an effective service to humanity, so that we can all take the responsibility to safeguard not only our own future, but also that of all.

THANKS. »