What Is Climate Week?

The annual convening of Climate Week in New York has become one of the largest globally for climate reform, but can the events shore up meaningful commitments amid the worsening effects of global warming?

Expert Brief by Alice C. Hill

September 20, 2024 11:40 am (EST)

Youth protest in New York City as part of climate week. Erik McGregor/LightRocket/Getty Images

This September, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will gridlock New York City. So will Climate Week. Claiming to be the largest of its kind, the annual convocation of climate activists, scientists, academics, and business and political leaders is scheduled to coincide with the meeting of world leaders. Their goal is to spur greater action on climate change, despite mixed results.

What is UN Climate Week?

Climate Week, which will be held from September 22 to September 29, was first launched in 2009 at New York’s Morgan Library to prepare negotiators for the annual UN-sponsored climate convening, the Conference of the Parties (COP). The event lacks the UNGA’s formality, insistence on protocol, and entrenched bureaucracy, offering instead some six hundred events and activities aimed at climate action.

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The Pope: 'Faiths are bound to guard our common home together'

(Translated version of original article in Italian)

'The climate drama is also a religious drama, it is urgent to act for the environment'


DUBAI, December 03, 2023 12:58 pm

ANSA editorial staff

Pope Francis - All rights reserved

"It is important to come together, beyond our differences, as brothers and sisters in humanity, and above all as believers, to remind ourselves and the world that, as pilgrims waiting in this land, we are obliged to guard our common home."

This was stated by Pope Francis in his greeting on the occasion of the inauguration of the Faith Pavilion at Expo City, in Dubai, as part of COP28, which was read out by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.

"Religions, as consciences of humanity, remind us that we are finite creatures, inhabited by the need for the infinite," the Pontiff said. Yes, we are mortal, we are limited, and guarding life also means opposing the delusion of voracious omnipotence that is ravaging the planet. It arises when man considers himself lord of the world; when, living as if God did not exist, he allows himself to be carried away by the things that pass away."

"Then the human being, instead of having technology at his disposal, allows himself to be dominated by it," he emphasizes, "he 'commodifies' himself and becomes indifferent: incapable of weeping and pitiing (pitying), he remains alone with himself and, rising above morality and prudence, goes so far as to destroy even what allows him to live." "This is why the climate drama is also a religious drama," Francis adds, "because its root lies in the presumption of self-sufficiency of the creature."

The Pavilion of Faith, a platform to promote religious commitment

The Faith Pavilion established at Expo City Dubai by the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), together with the Muslim Council of Elders, the UN Environment Program's Faith for Earth and other partners, is the first Pavilion of its kind in the history of UN COP climate conferences. The Pavilion serves as a global platform to promote religious engagement and interfaith dialogue in the implementation of effective measures to address the climate crisis. The initiative, emphasizing the importance of engaging religious figures and leaders in developing strategies to address global challenges, including the pursuit of environmental justice, gives them the opportunity to launch proposals and present ideas that support the efforts of all nations and peoples of the world to combat climate change. In this regard, at the end of the inauguration ceremony, a "Confluence of Conscience" will also be signed by the Pope (Cardinal Parolin will do so in his place), the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

'It is urgent to act for the environment, faiths must educate to change lives'

"It is urgent to act for the environment, but it is not enough just to use more economic resources: we need to change the way of life and it is therefore necessary to educate to sober and fraternal lifestyles." This is what Pope Francis said in his greeting. "It is an indispensable action for religions, which are also called to educate in contemplation, because creation is not only a system to be preserved, but a gift to be welcomed," the Pontiff added. And a world poor in contemplation will be a world polluted in the soul, which will continue to discard people and produce waste; A world without prayer will say many words but, devoid of compassion and tears, it will live only on a materialism made up of money and weapons."
'Preserving creation, the little ones and the poor ask of us'

"I cordially greet you and I am very sorry that I cannot be with you. I entrust to Cardinal Parolin the words that I would have liked to address to you. I would like to say 'thank you': thank you because you have created, for the first time, a religious pavilion within a COP. And thank you because this testifies to the willingness to work together."

"Today the world needs alliances that are not against anyone, but in favor of all," the Pontiff continued. It is urgent that religions, without falling into the trap of syncretism, set a good example by working together: not for their own interests or those of one party, but for the interests of our world." Among them, "the most important today are peace and climate."
"Let us set an example, as religious representatives, to show that change is possible, to bear witness to respectful and sustainable lifestyles, and let us ask the leaders of nations to preserve our common home," Francis said. "This is what the little ones and the poor ask of us in particular, whose prayers reach the throne of the Most High," he concludes. For their future and the future of all, let us protect

creation and protect our common home; Let us live in peace and promote peace!"

'The task of faiths is also to preserve peace, no inconsistencies'

"We know how interdependent peace and the care of creation are: it is clear to all how wars and conflicts damage the environment and divide nations, hindering a shared commitment on common issues, such as the protection of the planet." This was stated by Pope Francis in his greeting on the occasion of the inauguration of the Faith Pavilion.

"A home, in fact, is livable for everyone only if a climate of peace is established inside," the Pontiff said. So it is with our Earth, whose soil seems to unite with the cry of children and the poor to make a single plea reach heaven: peace!"
"Preserving peace is also the task of religions," Francis warned. Please don't let there be any inconsistencies on this. Do not deny with facts what you say with your lips: do not limit yourself to talking about peace, but take a clear stand against those who, by declaring themselves believers, feed hatred and do not oppose violence." The Pope concludes his greeting with an invitation to "be, together, builders of peace and guardians of creation."

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Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin delivers Pope Francis’ speech at the COP28

COP28: What to expect from the UN's high-stakes climate change summit

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION LAUDATE DEUM

Francis Apostolic Exhortations
[ AR - DE - EN - ES - FR - IT - PL - PT ]


APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

LAUDATE DEUM

OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS

TO ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS



1. “Praise God for all his creatures”. This was the message that Saint Francis of Assisi proclaimed by his life, his canticles and all his actions. In this way, he accepted the invitation of the biblical Psalms and reflected the sensitivity of Jesus before the creatures of his Father: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these” (Mt 6:28-29). “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight” (Lk 12:6). How can we not admire this tenderness of Jesus for all the beings that accompany us along the way!

2. Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons. We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.

3. This is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life. The Bishops of the United States have expressed very well this social meaning of our concern about climate change, which goes beyond a merely ecological approach, because “our care for one another and our care for the earth are intimately bound together. Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community. The effects of climate change are borne by the most vulnerable people, whether at home or around the world”. [1] In a few words, the Bishops assembled for the Synod for Amazonia said the same thing: “Attacks on nature have consequences for people’s lives”. [2] And to express bluntly that this is no longer a secondary or ideological question, but a drama that harms us all, the African bishops stated that climate change makes manifest “a tragic and striking example of structural sin”. [3]

4. The reflection and information that we can gather from these past eight years allow us to clarify and complete what we were able to state some time ago. For this reason, and because the situation is now even more pressing, I have wished to share these pages with you.

'Laudate Deum,' to be title of Pope's Apostolic Exhortation on climate

Pope Francis' audience with rectors of Latin American universities

 
POPE

The title of Pope Francis' next Apostolic Exhortation will be "Laudate Deum," the Pope himself revealed, while addressing participants in a meeting of Latin American university rectors in the Vatican, and as he vehemently warned against a throwaway culture.



By Father Johan Pacheco

The name of Pope Francis' next Apostolic Exhortation on the environment will be Laudate Deum, Pope Francis has revealed.

The Holy Father shared this on Thursday, Sept. 21 when addressing in the Vatican some 200 participants in the meeting of the Rectors of public and private universities of Latin America and the Caribbean, sponsored by the Red de Universidades para el Cuidado de la Casa Común and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on Sept. 20 and 21 at the Augustinianum on the theme "Organizing Hope," with the participation of some Prefects and Secretaries of Dicasteries of the Holy See.

During the occasion, the Pope reflected on various issues raised by the educators, including climate change, migration, and the culture of waste.

The Holy Father urged them to be creative in the formation of young people from today's realities and challenges. The rectors asked the Pope questions on environmental and climate issues to which he responded by emphasizing the deplorable "throwaway culture or culture of abandonment." He explained that it is "a culture of misuse of natural resources, which does not accompany nature to full development and does not let it live. This culture of abandonment," he said, "harms all of us."

The proper use of nature

Pope Francis also described it from the human point of view: "There is a throwaway culture that is always going on, there is a lack of education to use the things that remain, to remake them, to replace them in the order of the common use of things. And this throwaway culture also affects nature." And he insisted on the urgency of returning to the proper use of nature: "Today humanity is tired of this misuse of nature, and must return to the path of good use of nature. And how we use nature, a word that may sound strange, I would say: dialogue with nature, dialogue."

To this end, the Pope urged universities to create networks of awareness. "And at this point, you use a very beautiful word, which is organizing hope." "Reclaiming and organizing hope," Pope Francis said, "I like this phrase that you have said to me and one cannot help but consider it in the context of integral ecology, in this dimension according to which the youth of today have the right to a balanced cosmos and they have the right to hope and we have to help them to organize this hope, to make very serious decisions from this moment."

Nature is for all

Pope Francis also alluded to a "regenerative culture," identifying it as the fruit "of an economic crisis that is not always at the service of the development of the most needy. I would say that sometimes, or many times, it is not at the service of the development of everyone and creates more people in need. It is a culture of dispossession, we all have the right to the use of nature," to dominion over nature to make it grow and use it for the common good.

The Pope expressed his concern about "some abstract scientific type universities" that "do not use reality but science, an abstract science, not real, and so they walk on economic theories, social theories, everything is theory, but they never land" on the reality of the most needy. "The discarded, the outcasts, are men and women, whole peoples that we leave on the street like garbage, are they not? We have to be aware that we use the wealth of nature only for small groups through socio-economic theories that do not integrate nature, the discarded."

"Laudate Deum," the title of the next Apostolic Exhortation

Pope Francis called for alternatives to help overcome the environmental crisis and cited as an example the use of solar panels to provide electricity to Paul VI Hall and other areas of the Vatican. "We have to be very creative in these things to protect nature" because obviously electricity is made on the basis of coal or other elements, which always create problems in nature itself and "the young people we train have to become leaders on this point, convinced."

In his reflection, the Pope announced the name of his next Apostolic Exhortation: Laudate Deum, which will be published on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4: "a look at what has happened and say what needs to be done," he said.

Human and environmental degradation go together

The Holy Father also denounced the process of degradation that humanity is undergoing.

"There is a process of environmental degradation, we can say that in general. But this leads down, to the bottom of the ravine. Degradation of living conditions, degradation of the values that justify these living conditions, because they go together." And he explained that "inequality" is also "evident in the lack of access to basic necessities, and from here come all those visions that sociologically, in fact, without naming them, make women, indigenous peoples, Africans, people with fewer capabilities."

One of the forms of degradation and inequality, Pope Francis denounced, is "extractivism," that is, the hoarding of natural resources. "When this extractivist model goes on and enters people," he pointed out, "I extract the dignity of people, and this happens, never a geological extractivist model, so to speak, goes alone, it is always accompanied by the human extractivist model, the dignity of the person is extracted, they are slaves, said in another word. And please get this into children's heads, value education, so that they can evaluate these situations and can say clearly that this is called slavery."

Politics as the noblest vocation

Faced with this situation, the Pope called on university rectors to promote education in humanistic values and fraternal dialogue, helping students "enter politics" as a "noble vocation."

"Let us not forget that the noblest vocation of the human person is politics. Let us train our young people to be politicians, in the broadest sense of the term. Let us not forget that the noblest vocation of the human person is politics. We must train our young people to be politicians, in the broadest sense of the word. Not only to act in a political party, which is a small group, but to have political openness and to know how to dialogue with political groups with maturity, politics is not a disease, in my opinion it is the noblest vocation in a society, because it is the one that carries out development processes."

A human and Christian response to the migration crisis

The Pope also spoke about the current migration crisis.

"The migration drama in Europe today is extremely serious, extremely serious. And it cannot be solved by a mutual aid society, no. Here there is a humanistic and Christian question. Here there is a humanistic issue and a political decision, there are decisions that are human and Christian."

"I ask you," the Pope told the rectors, "out of respect for suffering humanity, to address this issue in your universities, but with the human density that it has. "So in summary I say this to you: migrants must be welcomed, accompanied, promoted and integrated. If we fail to integrate the migrant, we fail," he added.

"I want to say all this about migrants because the problem of migrants is very close to my heart," the Pope said again. He went on to say that "it is criminal what is being done today, here in Europe, sending them back, it is criminal. And I don't want to use euphemisms, I tell it like it is."
The three human languages: head, heart and hands

After reviewing all these situations, the Pope reminded that the task of universities should not be only to "teach things." "You must train boys and girls in the three human languages, that of the head, that of the heart and that of the hands.

"So that they learn to think what they feel and what they do, to feel what they do and what they think, and to do what they feel and what they think." Finally, he thanked those present and summed up his words by calling on universities to be: "creative in the face of reality and challenges, educators and not just dispensers of information."

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California's lawsuit says oil giants downplayed climate change. Here's what to know

CLIMATE

Updated September 17, 20236:08 PM ET
Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday

By Juliana Kim,
Michael Copley



In this aerial picture taken on Aug. 21, a vehicle drives through floodwaters following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary in Thousand Palms, Calif.Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images


The state of California has filed a sweeping climate lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, as well as the domestic oil industry's biggest lobby, the American Petroleum Institute.

The suit, filed on Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, claims that the companies misled the public for decades about climate change and the dangers of fossil fuels. It demands the companies help fund recovery efforts related to California's extreme weather events, from rising sea levels to drought and wildfires, that have been supercharged by human-caused climate change.

"Oil and gas companies have privately known the truth for decades — that the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change — but have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment. Enough is enough," Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, said Saturday in a statement.



CLIMATE
Why California's floods may be 'only a taste' of what's to come in a warmer world

Oil giants are already facing dozens of lawsuits from states and localities over their role in causing climate change. California's case adds to the legal threats facing America's oil and gas industry, forcing fossil fuel companies to defend themselves against the largest economy in the U.S. and a major oil-producing state.

On Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the damage caused by oil and gas companies' deceit was "incalculable" and his state is prepared to enforce accountability.

"The scale and scope of what the state of California can do, we think can move the needle," Newsom said at a discussion organized by Climate Week NYC.

Why now?

The lawsuit comes after years of extreme weather events have battered California's economy and killed its residents. In just the past year, California has been inundated with record heat, explosive wildfires, unusual bouts of severe rain and snow, and a rising sea level that's threatened the state's shorelines — disasters that studies say were made more likely or more intense due to climate change.

California filed its lawsuit against Exxon and other oil and gas companies just a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that executives at Exxon continued in recent years to raise doubts internally about the dangers of climate change and the need to cut back on oil and gas use, even as the company publicly conceded that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming.

CLIMATE
Exxon minimized climate change internally after conceding that fossil fuels cause it

Those efforts inside of Exxon, which continued until 2016, according to the Journal, were happening at the same time that scientists at the company were modeling troubling increases in carbon dioxide emissions without big reductions in fossil fuel consumption. The Journal cited internal company documents that were part of a New York state lawsuit and interviews with former executives.

In response to the Journal article, an Exxon spokesperson told NPR that the company has repeatedly acknowledged that "climate change is real, and we have an entire business dedicated to reducing emissions — both our own and others."

Wiles said in a statement this week that the documents the Journal uncovered will probably be used against Exxon in court.

What are the allegations?

In the 135-page California complaint, the state claims that oil and gas executives knew at least since the 1960s that greenhouse gasses produced by fossil fuels would warm the planet and change the climate. According to the suit, industry-funded reports themselves directly linked fossil fuel consumption to rising global temperatures, as well as damages to the air, land and water.

Despite this, oil companies intentionally suppressed the information from the public and policymakers, even investing billions to cast doubt and spread disinformation on climate change, the state alleges.

"Their deception caused a delayed societal response to global warming," the complaint said. "And their misconduct has resulted in tremendous costs to people, property, and natural resources, which continue to unfold each day."

The state further charges that the oil companies continue to deceive the public today about the science and reality of climate change, adding that the industry's investments in clean fuels and renewable energy are "nonexistent or miniscule" in comparison to the resources devoted to expanding their fossil fuel production.

How are companies responding?

Ryan Meyers, general counsel of the American Petroleum Institute, defended oil and gas companies and their commitment to reducing their environmental footprint, adding that climate policy should be for Congress "to debate and decide, not the court system."

"This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of California taxpayer resources," Meyers said.

CLIMATE
Shell plans to increase fossil fuel production despite its net-zero pledge

Similarly, Shell spokesperson Anna Arata said that the company agrees climate change needs to be addressed, but it should be done collaboratively not by legal action.

"We do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change, but that smart policy from government and action from all sectors is the appropriate way to reach solutions and drive progress," she said in a statement.

Chevron agreed that climate change policy requires coordination. The company also accused California of being "a leading promoter of oil and gas development."

"Its local courts have no constructive or constitutionally permissible role in crafting global energy policy," the company said in a statement.

Exxon, BP and ConocoPhillips did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

Why Exxon?

Earlier investigations found Exxon worked for decades to create confusion about climate change, even though its own scientists had begun warning executives as early as 1977 that carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels were warming the planet, posing dire risks to human beings.

A study early this year in the journal Nature found that Exxon's scientists had modeled global warming trends with "shocking levels of skill and accuracy," according to the lead author.

Despite the warning from its own scientists, Exxon spearheaded and funded a highly effective campaign for more than 30 years that cast doubt on human-driven climate change and the science underpinning it.

CLIMATE
Exxon climate predictions were accurate decades ago. Still it sowed doubt

Scientists with the United Nations say the world is running out of time to prevent global warming that would cause more dangerous impacts, like storms and heat waves. Climate scientists say people need to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The world is currently heading for about 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming.

Climate change is making California wildfires more explosive. Over the past two years, the threat of wildfires has led several big insurance companies to scale back their home insurance business in the state or to stop selling new policies altogether in order to avoid paying billions in damages.

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