University of 91³Ō¹Ļ PresidentĀ , on Monday (June 11) commended the worldās leading energy executives for joining Pope Francis over the weekend in a serious exploration of how to transition from fossil fuels while providing new sources of energy for the additional 2.4 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by mid-century.
āEven after the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, the Vatican conference demonstrated the continued appetite for reduced carbon dioxide emissions by those with the most at stake financially,ā Father Jenkins said. āThe worldās leading oil and gas executives demonstrated a commendable willingness to sit down to discuss real solutions with the man who at times could be their severest critic.ā
He also congratulated faculty at theĀ , including emeritus professorĀ , current deanĀ Ā and former dean Carolyn Woo, for successfully sponsoring the historic conference.
āThey managed to assemble for the first time in one place those people best positioned to respond to Francisā environmental challenges as articulated in Laudato Siā,ā Father Jenkins said. āThey also made real Mendozaās mission of making business a force for good in theĀ world.
āGlobal warming is not only a technological or business problem, but a moral challenge,ā Father Jenkins said, adding that āparticipants of the conference are to be commended for their response to Pope Francisā call to actionĀ in theĀ encyclical Laudato Siā.ā
InĀ it, the pontiff borrowed the language of St. Francis of Assisi to characterize the earth as āour sister,ā who, Pope Francis wrote, ānow cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.Ā We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters entitled to plunder her at will.ā
As a letter directly to them from the successor of St. Peter, Catholics were especially drawn toĀ Francisā encyclical. It caused 91³Ō¹Ļ, for example,Ā to take a number of concrete actions, including the cessation of coal burning at the campus power plant ā anticipated now to end within the year.
The objectives of the conference identified by theĀ Vaticanās Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and 91³Ō¹Ļās wereĀ clear and practical:
- Assess the risks and how to mitigate them in transitioning to cleaner fuels.
- Identify emerging and potentially transformative opportunities as the transition unfolds.
- Recognize challenges and paths forward,Ā āas this moment in historyĀ offers the opportunity to lead beyond traditional industry prospectives to a new form of collective, visionary leadership.ā
āThe moral imperative is clear,ā Father Jenkins said.Ā āAgain in Pope Francisā own words, āIn a Judeo Christian tradition the word ācreationā has a broader meaning than ānatureā for it has to do with Godās loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance.āā
The pope argued, and 91³Ō¹Ļās own research supports, the notion that the poor are the most vulnerable to climate change, with the poorest countries most likely to experience environmental catastrophes,Ā whileĀ having the fewest resources to respond to them.Ā Ā
TheĀ āearth herself,ā Francis said, āis among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor ā¦ā
InĀ Laudato Siā, Francis also called āfor a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.ā
āTheĀ dialogue began last week in Rome among those fewĀ people in the world best positioned to do something about it,ā Father Jenkins said.