Environment Day, Pope’s audience with the Gedi group: “Climate protection is a common good”

From the “culture of indifference and waste” to the “culture of care, which places human dignity and the common good at the centre”. Pope francescothe pontiff of the Praised yesthe encyclical which already in May 2015 drew attention to respect for the environment and for the earth, once again speaks of the “urgent and no longer postponeable” change in the development model during the audience in the Vatican in which he received the promoters of the Green and Blue Festival on the occasion of World Environment Day.

A hearing organized to raise awareness and convey the importance of combating climate change for the common good in which they participated John Elkannpresident of the Gedi group, Maurice ScanavinoCEO Gedi Group, Maurice MolinariDirector of Republic and editorial director of Gedi, Riccardo LunaDirector of Green and Blue and curator of the Festival, Andrea Grivaexternal relations manager Gedi, e Conrad Corradi, chief executive officer of Gnn. Alongside some of the world’s leading climate activists including Ineza Umohoza Grace, Licypriya Kangujam, Sophia Kianni, Maya Gabeira, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Per Espen Stoknes, Carlin Petrini, Carlo Ratti.

THE FULL SPEECH OF POPE FRANCIS

“As in the aftermath of the Second World War – the Pope underlined, quoting his environmentalist encyclical – today the entire international community must prioritize the implementation of collective, supportive and far-sighted actions, recognizing the greatness, the urgency and the beauty of the challenge before us”.

“A great, urgent and beautiful challenge – he continued – which requires a cohesive and proactive dynamic”. Big “and demanding, because it requires a change of course, a decisive change in the current model of consumption and production, too often steeped in the culture of indifference and waste, waste of the environment and people”. Urgent because “it can no longer be postponed, as indicated by many in the scientific world”, given that as “experts clearly point out”, the choices and actions “implemented in this decade will have impacts for thousands of years”. And finally: “A beautiful, stimulating and achievable challenge: to move from the culture of waste to lifestyles based on the culture of respect and care, care for creation and for one’s neighbor, near or far in space and time”, Pope explained Francis.

An “educational journey”, the Pontiff called it, “for a transformation of our society”, not only an individual but a “community” conversion. Which must be addressed in a subsidiary way at all levels “, he said also in front of the representatives of some cities from the various continents: Rosy Senanayakemayor of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackeymayor of Accra, Ghana, Claurio Orrego Larraìngovernor of Santiago de Chile, Julia López VenturaSpain, regional director for Europe of the C40 network, Frederick Marchettileader of the Sustainable markets initiatives fashion task force commissioned by King Charles of England, Gael Giraud, director of the Georgetown University Center for Climate Justice). “From small daily choices to local policies, to international ones”, because, Francis underlined, “we need everyone’s contribution”. Including that of the Vatican which, the Pope recalled, has given up 93 percent of plastic.

To the Pontiff, who seemed to be in excellent shape and spent about an hour with the promoters of the Green and Blue Festival, the president of Gedi, John Elkann donated a stole with the “Climate Stripes” that tell the story of global warming in colour. The same “Stripes” that appeared on the cover of Republicwhich the Pontiff wanted to leaf through, dedicated to World Environment Day and the Green&Blue Festival which began today, June 5, in Rome and then moved from June 6 to 8 in Milan.

“The phenomenon of climate change – the Pope concluded in his speech, always thinking of the least ones – insistently reminds us of our responsibilities: it particularly affects the poorest and most fragile, those who have contributed least to its evolution. It is first a question of justice and then of solidarity.Climate change – he added – also brings us back to founding our action on responsible cooperation on the part of everyone: our world is now too interdependent and cannot afford to be divided in blocs of countries that promote their interests in an isolated and unsustainable way”.