Vatican city/Lisbon - Pope Francis sends a message to participants in a Vatican conference on resilience and climate change, and urges all nations to work together to reduce carbon emissions and help people adapt to climate change.
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is hosting a two-day conference at the Vatican’s Casino Pio IV, on 13-14 July, focusing on the theme: “Resilience of People and Ecosystems under Climate Stress”.
As the event kicked off on Wednesday, Pope Francis sent his greetings to participants, and encouraged their efforts to discuss the environmental crisis.
The Pope said the world is facing the twin challenges of “lessening climate risks by reducing emissions” and of “assisting and enabling people to adapt to progressively worsening changes to the climate”.
These challenges require everyone to come up with a multi-dimensional approach to protect people and the planet, he added.
Access to clean energy and drinking water are other issues that world leaders need to address, he said, adding that farmers need help to shift production to more resilient crops.
The Pope recalled the related concerns of loss of biodiversity and the various wars that threaten human survival and lead to “problems of food security and increasing pollution”.
He noted that the Holy See and Vatican City State have recently acceded to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
Wildfires scorch parts of Europe
A spate of wildfires is scorching parts of Europe, with firefighters battling blazes in Portugal, Spain, Croatia and southern France on Wednesday amid an unusual heat wave that authorities are linking to climate change.
In Portugal, Civil Protection commander André Fernandes said multiple fires have caused the evacuation of more than 600 people.
The European heat wave is also sparking flames in Spain and France — and in Turkey at the other end of the Mediterranean.
More than 800 firefighters battled two wildfires in the region outside Bordeaux in southwest France, according to the regional emergency service.
More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) had been consumed alone in the district of Leiria, just north of Lisbon, Mayor Goncalo Lopes told Portuguese state broadcaster RTP.
Neighboring Spain hit highs of 43 C (109.4 F) in several southern cities on Tuesday. Over 400 people were evacuated Tuesday because of a wildfire that has consumed 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) in western Spain.
European Union officials issued a warning last week that climate change is behind the extremely dry and hot summer so far on the continent, urging local authorities to brace for wildfires.
In China, for the third time this summer, Shanghai issued another red alert, the highest alert for extreme heat as temperatures appeared set to test records in China's most populous city on Thursday.
The city of 25 million residents announced a red alert, indicating temperatures were expected to rise to at least 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) over the next 24 hours.
Shanghai has issued three red alerts in the past five days, though it is a relatively rare occurrence as the city has issued 17 such alerts since record-keeping began in 1873.
“In working together, men and women of good will can address the scale and complexity of the issues that lie before us, protect the human family and God’s gift of creation from climate extremes, and foster the goods of justice and peace.” said Pope Francis concluding his address, encouraging participants in the Vatican resilience conference in their efforts on behalf of people and the planet.
-CNA/AP/Reuters