Pope Francis Will Attend United Nations Climate Conference COP28

From November 30 to December 12, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) will take place in Dubai. This is the annual meeting of member countries who signed the 1994 treaty that established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For almost thirty years, world leaders have made promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but as Pope Francis asserted in his recent apostolic exhortation, Laudate Deum (Praise God), “our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point… We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.” (LD 2). At COP28, world leaders once again have the opportunity to make decisions that will result in meaningful steps toward addressing the climate crisis and promoting environmental social justice. Pope  Francis will attend the conference along with leaders from nearly 200 countries. Let us pray that they act wisely and make decisions that hold all accountable to their commitments.