“The way we are moving is a suicide,” United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said in an interview Nov. 30, and humanity’s survival will be “impossible” without the United States rejoining the Paris Accord, reported The Nation Dec. 2.
Pope Francis has expressed his concern about climate change, and the infringement of free-market enterprises upon the environment, in his encyclicals Fratelli Tutti and Laudato Si.
In Fratelli Tutti he wrote, “The right of some to free enterprise or market freedom cannot supersede the rights of peoples and the dignity of the poor, or, for that matter, respect for the natural environment” (FT 122).
In Laudato si’, the pope said we are “faced … with global environmental deterioration” (LS, 3), and, “If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us” (LS, 24).
Guterres said he had been in touch with Joe Biden and looked forward to welcoming the U.S. into a “global coalition for net zero by 2050” according to The Nation, implying that Biden will re-enter the U.S. into the Paris Accord.
A total of 110 countries, including The European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China have already joined the coalition.
The Paris Accord was forged in 2015 as an international attempt to reduce greenhouse gases. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2017, stating it was not fair to “the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers.” He also said he would look to re-enter the Accord and “see if we can make a deal that’s fair.”
Having been unable to sell in churches for well over a year due to the pandemic, we are now inviting readers to support the Herald by investing in our future. We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values.
Please join us on our 130 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. For more information from our chairman on contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund, click here
Make a Donation
Donors giving £500 or more will automatically become sponsor patrons of the Herald. This includes two complimentary print/digital gift subscriptions, invitations to Patron events, pilgrimages and dinners, and 6 gift subscriptions sent to priests, seminaries, Catholic schools, religious care homes and prison and university chaplaincies. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron Sponsor. Click here for more information about contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund