Pope Francis made his strongest statements yet about climate change Wednesday, rebuking fossil fuel companies and urging countries to make an immediate transition to renewable energy.

In a new document titled “Laudate Deum,” or “Praise God,” the pope criticizes oil and gas companies for greenwashing new fossil fuel projects and calls for more ambitious efforts in the West to tackle the climate crisis. In the landmark apostolic exhortation, a form of papal writing, Francis says that “avoiding an increase of a tenth of a degree in the global temperature would already suffice to alleviate some suffering for many people.”

“Laudate Deum” is a follow-up to the pope’s 2015 encyclical on climate change, known as “Laudato Si’,” which lamented the exploitation of the planet and cast the protection of the environment as a moral imperative. When it was released, “Laudato Si’” was viewed as an extraordinary move by the head of the Catholic Church to address global warming and its consequences.

Nearly a decade later, the pope’s message has taken on new urgency.

  • @[email protected]
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    1051 year ago

    People tend to overlook the fact that the words of someone with this level of influence are vitally important and can have enormous effects on the world.

    Whether you in particular care about a famous/rich person’s comments or not, there are millions that do–and that is important. Important enough that even without respecting that person, we should always take what they say and do very seriously.

    • @MattTheProgrammer
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      501 year ago

      You bring up a valid point so I won’t debate. I still despise the institution that he represents and hope it all burns to the ground though.