Survivors of Cyclone Freddy in Malawi contemplate their destroyed homes (AFP or licensors)
By Linda Bordoni
Dec 4 2023
As world leaders, civil society and faith-based groups are gathered in Dubai for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to address the climate crisis, the Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis speaks of his hopes for the Summit, of the crucial role played by faith-based organizations and of Caritas’ successful effort to put the Loss and Damage Fund firmly on the COP agenda.
Addressing and somewhat acknowledging the common perception of COP conferences as mere “talk shops for the powerful,” Alistair Dutton, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, highlighted the real progress in addressing Climate Change issues seen in previous such events, in particular at the landmark COP15 in Paris.
Caritas Internationalis, he confirmed in an interview with Vatican Radio in the run-up to the event, is present in Dubai as an “Observer” – one of the non-party stakeholders at the Summit that play a crucial role in achieving global Climate Change goals.
“For us as observers (…) I think very much we’re going with the hope of influencing the negotiations and trying to secure some significant progress” he said.
Obviously, he noted, the COP in Paris was a very significant moment that saw world leaders reach the global agreement to try to keep rising temperatures below one and a half degrees, “the yardstick for all COPs since”.
That Summit came in the wake of the publication by Pope Francis of his encyclical Laudato Si, Dutton continued, while this one comes in the wake of Laudate Deum.
“If Laudato sì was a call to action on climate change saying how great the problem was, Pope Francis’ frustration in Laudate Deum is absolutely palpable,” he added.
“If Laudato sì was a call to action on climate change saying how great the problem was, Pope Francis’ frustration in Laudato Deum is absolutely palpable.”
We participate in this Summit, the Secretary General explained, “looking really to try to double down on the commitments that have previously been made and to make sure that governments live up to those commitments and commit the resources necessary”.
Loss and Damage Fund
In a positive start on Thursday, Nov 30, the COP28, kicked off clinching an early victory with delegates adopting a new fund to help poor nations cope with costly climate disasters.
The adoption of the Loss and Damage Fund was among Dutton’s priorities for the Summit and he explained how he has been involved in promoting and establishing it as a necessary response to some aspects of the climate crisis.
He recalled that two years ago when he was at Caritas Scotland (SCIAF) he attended the COP in Glasgow. Together with “Stop Climate Chaos Scotland” (a diverse coalition of over 60 civil society organisations campaigning together on climate change in Scotland), and with the Scottish government, he said they managed to get the issue of Loss and Damage very much on the agenda.“This year we are hoping that a Loss and Damage Fund will be established with mechanisms for people to get that much-needed compensation,” he said.
Reduction in use of fossil fuels
Another crucial issue Dutton said he is hoping will undergo significant progress regards the reduction in the use of fossil fuels that are “absolutely crucial in containing the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”
“So it might seem a ‘talking shop’ from afar, but I think we have to go into this both hopeful and determined that we will see significant progress,” he exclaimed.
“We have to go into this both hopeful and determined that we will see significant progress.”
Climate Change and conflict
Dutton also drew attention to the interconnectedness of climate change and conflict, stressing that both phenomena influence each other.
He pointed to an event within the Summit scheduled to take place on Dec 3 that features “Peace” connected to climate change policy. It is the first time in the annual climate change conference’s history that decision-makers are called to focus on this connection and address the crucial challenge.
The Caritas leader said it is a timely opportunity to raise awareness and take action as it is clear that conflict and climate change are deeply linked: “It goes both ways: conflict generates climate change, and climate change generates conflict.”
“Conflict generates climate change, and climate change generates conflict.”
He said that Caritas Internationalis has just published a report about people who have been driven to move from their homes and migrate as a result of climate change, noting that “as we see weather patterns becoming more extreme and more erratic, as we see more and more extreme climate-related crises, more people are being forced to leave their homes and move.”
“As people move, comes greater competition for resources, out of which a greater likelihood of conflict arise,” he said, “We need to be talking about that and we need world leaders to act now to contain Climate Change so that we don’t see future migration and future conflicts that arise from competition for resources.”
We need to be talking about that, and we need world leaders to act now to contain Climate Change so that we don’t see future migration and future conflicts that arise from competition for resources.
Pope’s teaching: A moral force for change
The publication of Laudate Deum, just before the Summit, Dutton said, is proof of how much the Pope cares about the climate change issue and its consequences for our common home and its inhabitants.
He has spoken vociferously about the issue many times, he added, highlighting the obvious time to note is in Laudato sì,” and he recalled also the many messages he has sent to world leaders on so many occasions.
Pope Francis had to cancel his scheduled presence at the Summit for health reasons, but he is expected to send a message to participants.
Dutton said he expects the Pope to tell world leaders that “we have to act now for the good of humanity, for the good of the planet, to care for current and future generations.”
“We have to act now for the good of humanity, for the good of the planet, to care for current and future generations.”
Interfaith collaboration
Finally, the Caritas Internationalis chief shone the light on the Pope’s commitment to interfaith harmony and collaboration that, he said, brings enormous weight to a choral call for climate justice.
“I think and hope that he will really galvanize faith leaders, different faiths to come together and make it clear that people of all faiths are concerned about this and understand the urgency of it,” he said, noting that the vast majority of people in the world are people of faith.
“We lose sight of that, I think, in the global West,” he continued, “But most people are people of faith, and they understand the responsibility and the need to do something about it.”
Pope Francis, Dutton concluded, not only “will have a very clear message about climate justice per se, I think his role and the role of faith groups in underlining the global groundswell of opinion will be significant in helping move the dial to whatever degree it moves.”
“The Pope’s role and the role of faith groups in underlining the global groundswell of opinion will be significant in helping move the dial to whatever degree it moves.” – Vatican News
