Church leaders call for compensation and climate justice, 1

BY SHAY CULLEN

THE ENVIRONMENTAL conference on the climate crises called COP 27 in Egypt is coming to a close this week and the voice of the Catholic Church calling for climate justice and restitution payments for the loss and damage caused by the industrial nations against the poor was heard. Many in the hard-hearted rich industrial countries refuse to admit and accept their responsibility and liability for causing the climate crises. 

These are the powerful hidden forces of industry that capture government departments and compromise and bribe politicians and bend them to their will. Their will is for all to deny that there is a climate crisis and leave the world as it is, consuming fossil fuel non-stop.

The planet is heading for a cliff at full speed, as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, with the deniers and obstructers’ foot hard down on the accelerator. The tipping point of no return will soon be reached when the heating cycle of the planet continues indefinitely. Life on earth will be unbearable for creatures, plants and humans, the experts say. 

Paying reparations for harm being done to poor nations is an urgent matter of conscience, according to Archbishop Nicolas Thévenin, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt and deputy head of the Holy See’s delegation.

He said that the rich industrial nations must pay compensation for polluting the planet and damaging the lives and environment of everyone else. In other undiplomatic words, the rich countries must stand up and pay up.

“It is imperative that we build bridges of solidarity. Those who are most vulnerable to the ravages of climate change are urgently calling for real support in this moment of crisis.” He said “to ignore them [those affected by climate crisis] would be a failure of conscience.”

Pope Francis in Laudato Si teaches that all humans have to save the environment and the planet from the destructive forces of irresponsible governments and industry that cause global warming and the massive disasters that are happening around the world. 

The damage to small countries from floods, typhoons and drought is immense and is brought upon them by irresponsible governments that approve coal and oil power stations and are paying oil companies a trillion dollars in subsidies to explore for more oil and gas.

This is extreme hypocrisy and a total contradiction to their statements in the past and today at COP 27 where they vow to reduce CO2 and methane levels in the atmosphere. In fact, they are increasing the emissions of CO2.

The Philippines has 28 polluting coal-fired plants and industry moguls and some government cronies and politicians under their influence are demanding to build 20 more coal plants. Public opinion is steadfast against anymore and clamor for the free renewable power from nature.

The tycoons and government must invest in low-cost renewable energy generating sources like wind, solar geo-thermal, hydro and biomass. The oil companies worldwide are among the worst in causing CO2 and toxic contamination. (To be continued)/PN