Our moral imperative to act on climate change -- and 3 steps we can take

The global climate crisis will require us to transform the way we act, says His Holiness Pope Francis. Delivering a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City, the spiritual leader proposes three courses of action to address the world's growing environmental problems and economic inequalities, illustrating how all of us can work together, across faiths and societies, to protect the Earth and promote the dignity of everyone. "The future is built today," he says. "And it is not built in isolation, but rather in community and in harmony."

[His Holiness Pope Francis
Filmed in Vatican City

First shown at TED Countdown
Global Launch, October 2020]

Hello!

We are living during a historic moment,

marked by difficult challenges,
as we all know.

The world is shaken by the crisis

caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,

which highlights

another global challenge:

the socio-environmental crisis.

And this requires us, all of us,
to face a choice.

The choice between what matters,

and what doesn’t.

The choice between continuing to ignore

the suffering of the poorest

and to abuse our common home,

our planet,

or engaging at every level

to transform the way we act.

Science tells us, every day,
with more precision,

that urgent action is needed --

and I am not dramatizing,
this is what science says --

if we are to keep the hope of avoiding

radical and catastrophic climate change.

And for this we must act now.

This is a scientific fact.

Our conscience tells us
that we cannot remain indifferent

to the suffering of those in need,

to the growing economic inequalities

and social injustices.

And that the economy itself cannot
be limited to production and distribution.

It must also consider

its impacts on both the environment
and on the dignity of people.

We could say that the economy

should be creative

in itself and in its methods,

in the way it acts.

Creativity.

I would like to invite you
to go on a journey together.

A journey of transformation and of action.

Made not so much of words,

but rather of concrete
and pressing actions.

I am calling it a journey because
it requires a shift, a change.

From this crisis none of us
must come out the same --

we cannot come out the same:

from a crisis, we never
come out the same --

and it will take time,
and hard work, to overcome it.

We will have to take it
one step at a time;

help the weak; persuade those in doubt;

imagine new solutions;

and commit to carry them out.

Our goal is clear:

to build, within the next decade,

a world where we can meet the needs

of the present generations,

including everyone,

without compromising the possibilities
of future generations.

I would like to invite
all people of faith,

Christian or not,

and all people of good will,

to embark on this journey,

starting from your own faith,

or if you do not have a faith,
from your own intention,

from your own goodwill.

Each one of us, as individuals,
or members of a group --

families, communities of faith,
businesses, associations, institutions --

can make a substantial contribution.

Five years ago I wrote
the encyclical letter "Laudato Si’,"

dedicated to the care of our common home.

It proposes the concept
of "integral ecology,"

to respond together
to the cry of the Earth,

as well as to the cry of the poor.

Integral ecology is an invitation

to an integral vision on life,

starting from the conviction
that everything in the world is connected

and that, as the pandemic
made sure to remind us,

we are interdependent on each other,

as well as on our Mother Earth.

From such a vision stems the need

to find new ways

of defining progress and measuring it,

without limiting ourselves
to the economic,

technological, financial
and gross-product aspects,

but rather, giving central relevance

to its ethical, social

and educational dimensions.

I would like to propose today
three courses of action.

As I wrote in "Laudato Si’,"

the change and the right orientation
for our journey of integral ecology

require first that we all take
an educational step.

So, my first suggestion

is to promote, at every level,

an education geared towards
the care of our common home,

developing the understanding

that environmental problems
are linked to human needs.

We must understand this
from the beginning:

environmental problems
are tied to human needs.

An education based on scientific data

and on an ethical approach.

This is important: both of them.

I am encouraged by the fact
that many young people

already show a new ecological
and social awareness,

and many of them fight generously

for the defense of the environment

and for justice.

As a second proposal, we must focus

on water and nutrition.

Access to safe and drinkable water

is an essential and universal human right.

It is essential

because it determines
the survival of people

and therefore is a condition

for the exercise of all other
rights and responsibilities.

Providing adequate nutrition for all,

through non-destructive farming methods,

should become the main purpose

of the entire cycle of food
production and distribution.

The third suggestion
is about energy transition:

a gradual replacement, but without delay,

of fossil fuels with clean energy sources.

We only have a few years.

Scientists estimate approximately

less than 30 --

we have a few years, less than 30 --

to drastically reduce

greenhouse gas emissions
into the atmosphere.

Not only must this transition be quick

and capable of meeting
present and future energy needs,

it also must be attentive

to the impact on the poor,

on local populations,

as well as on those who work
in the energy production sectors.

One way to encourage this change

is to lead businesses
towards the urgent need

to commit themselves to the integral care
of our common home,

excluding from investments

those companies that do not meet
the parameters of integral ecology,

while rewarding those
that work concretely,

during this transitional phase,

to put, at the center of their activities,

sustainability,

social justice

and the promotion of the common good.

Many organizations,
Catholic and of other faiths,

have already taken on the responsibility

to act in this direction.

In fact, the Earth must be
worked and nursed,

cultivated and protected.

We cannot continue
to squeeze it like an orange.

And we can say that this --
taking care of the Earth --

is a human right.

These three proposals
must be considered

as part of a larger group of actions

that we must carry out
in an integrated way

in order to find a lasting solution
to these problems.

The current economic system
is unsustainable.

We are faced with the moral imperative,
and the practical urgency,

to rethink many things:

the way we produce; the way we consume;

our culture of waste;

our short-term vision;

the exploitation of the poor

and our indifference towards them;

the growing inequalities

and our dependence
on harmful energy sources.

We need to think about
all these challenges.

Integral ecology suggests a new conception

of the relationship between
us humans and Nature.

This leads to a new economy,

where the production of wealth

is directed to the integral well-being
of the human being

and to the improvement --

not the destruction --

of our common home.

It also implies a renewed politics,

conceived as one
of the highest forms of charity.

Yes,

love is interpersonal,

but love is also political.

It involves all peoples
and it involves Nature.

I invite therefore all of you

to embark on this journey,

that I proposed in "Laudato Si’"

and also in my new encyclical
"Fratelli Tutti."

As the term Countdown suggests,

we must act with urgency.

Each one of us can play a valuable role,

if we all begin our journey today --

not tomorrow -- today.

Because the future is built today,

and it is not built in isolation,

but rather in community and in harmony.

Thank you.