Pope to Copenhagen: Saving Environment as Crucial as Fighting Terrorism

Benedict XVI’s message for the Catholic Church’s annual World Day of Peace on Jan. 1 does not mention the Copenhagen Climate Summit by name, but the target audience could not have been more obvious, nor the framing of his appeal more loaded for both foes and critics of global warming.

At the very top of the 3,800-word document, titled “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation,” the pope says the preservation of “creation”– that is, the natural environment that is a gift from God –”has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind.”

“Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development — wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect — if not downright misuse — of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us.”

That’s a powerful linkage, and as Vatican-watcher John Allen noted, the title of the document was a deliberate play on the motto of Benedict’s predecessor, Pope Paul VI, who said “If you want peace, work for justice.”

The framework of “environmental protection-as-security issue” is not one you’ll see either side in the climate wars citing very often, though it could have appeal to neo-cons who tend to be global warming skeptics. Unfortunately, they will likely be put off by other aspects of the document.

For example, Benedict takes climate change and its human-based causes as fact, and his message clearly reinforces his growing reputation as the “green pope” who presents sharp challenges to those who do not support efforts to curb greenhouse gases and sweeping measures to protect rain forests and other natural resources.

He argues, for instance, that economic development must include safeguards for the environment, even if they are costly, and he calls for “a world-wide redistribution of energy resources, so that countries lacking those resources can have access to them.” Moreover, “technologically advanced societies must be prepared to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving its efficiency.”

Solar power is crucial to averting environmental catastrophe and developing a just world, Benedict writes, while nations must also work for “progressive disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons.”

Source: Politics Daily