Poor nations want U.S. to pay reparations for extreme weather
Thomas M. Kostigen, USA Today
Preparatory talks ahead of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris in December has representatives from developing nations asking for more than an already agreed upon $100 billion per year for climate change mitigation measures. They want additional compensation for weather-related disasters as well as a “displacement coordination facility” for refugees. And they want all this to be legally binding as part of the larger anticipated Paris accord.
Pope: On the climate, we must listen to the poor
Iacop Scaramuzzi, Vatican Insider
The Pope has sent out an appeal ahead of the meeting on climate change in Paris, calling for an “authentic alliance” between key global players. An alliance capable of bring about “significant global environmental agreements” “make every effort to ensure that the poorest, among countries and human beings, can make their voices heard”.
‘Everyone is required’ to take action against climate change, Pope says
Catholic World News
Pope Francis said that “the issue of climate change is a matter of justice,” in a September 11 audience with participants in a meetings sponsored by the Foundation for Sustainable Development.
Pope’s Address to Participants in Climate Change Conference
ZENIT
Here is a ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ address today in the Vatican to some 300 participants in a meeting promoted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development, “Environmental justice and Climate Change:”
Catholic leaders make climate change plea to California lawmakers
Anita Chabria, The Guardian
Citing Pope Francis’s recent encyclical on the environment, leaders of the Catholic church in California spoke out this week to encourage wavering lawmakers to vote in favor of proposed sweeping climate change legislation that is struggling for passage in the final days of this session of the California legislature.
Yelling at a little girl over climate change: Chris Christie hits a new low
Paul Mulshine, The New Jersey Star-Ledger
I like the Pope as much as the next guy, but he’s got to make up his mind. You can’t claim to oppose increased CO-2 emissions when at the same time you oppose birth control. Adding a couple billion new people to the planet will inevitably increase emissions, not just from their breathing but from their consumption of food, their travel and their use of appliances.
The Sierra Club, target of ‘absurd smear campaign,’ wants what’s right (OPINION)
Amanda Caffall, Oregon Live
To mitigate the impending climate crisis, protect clean water and air for future generations and preserve our one, habitable planet, we must move completely off of fossil fuels and achieve a clean energy economy. There is a moral imperative to act on climate. Pope Francis’ historic encyclical, the Dalai Lama’s words, the recent Islamic declaration on climate change are in agreement, and there’s even unprecedented agreement among the world’s major developed economies at the most recent meeting of the G7, which includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan.
Peru’s Conundrum: a Pope’s environmental message divides his people
Justin Catanoso, Mongabay
A business executive sits at her desk, silently reading Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical on climate change and environmental protection. In it, the Pope critiques the free market, decries the plundering of the earth’s limited resources and warns of dire consequences if radical change doesn’t come soon. “It makes me angry,” the executive declares as she finishes. “I see a pessimistic view toward entrepreneurs, investors and economic leaders. I think the Pope is damaging his role in building relations between business, the people and the church.”