The world has lost foremost proponent of energy conservation

The world has not only lost the leader of the Catholic faith, but also a vocal proponent of energy conservation. Andrew Warren, chair of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, mourns the passing of an influential voice in an article on the May edition of the Energy in Buildings & Industry magazine.

 

The passing of an environmental champion

He was the world’s most popular influencer. He had 1.4billion signed up followers – approaching 1 in 5 of adults alive.

He was certainly the greatest proponent for energy conservation. Because, crucially, he was less concerned with promoting  energy efficiency per se. But in conserving the world’s finite resources.

A vigorous opponent of material excess, he was unquestionably  the world’s most respected environmental champion.

Of Argentinian origin, Jorge Mario Bergoglio died last month. His funeral in Rome made headlines everywhere It was attended by practically every world leader. Because 13 years ago, he ceased being a Cardinal in his homeland, and became the first ever Pope called Francis.

A major milestone in Francis’ papacy was his 180-page encyclical   on climate change, Laudato Si’ (Praise Be), published in June 2015.

“Science and technology are not neutral; from the beginning to the end of a process, various intentions and possibilities are in play and can take on distinct shapes,” he wrote “Nobody is suggesting a return to the Stone Age, but we do need to slow down and look at reality in a different way, to appropriate the positive and sustainable progress which has been made, but also to recover the values and the great goals swept away by our unrestrained delusions of grandeur.”

The encyclical cited climate change as “one small sign of the ethical, cultural, and spiritual crisis of modernity,” reflected in a “structurally perverse” and unequal economic system.

“We all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels,” Francis wrote. “The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty.”

Paris agreement

Laudato si  has led to some 900 spinoff Catholic support organisations across the world.

Laudato si was timed for release in the run up to the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris in November 2015, which culminated in the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement .

The Pope was rumoured to have played a key private role in the negotiation’s dramatic denouement, with reports suggesting he directly called world leaders in a bid to help get the agreement and its target to keep global temperature increases ‘well below 2C’ over the line.

Laurence Tubiana, one of the key architects of the Paris Agreement, said: “Pope Francis has been an important voice of the 2010s and 2020s. He has promoted a humanist vision of the global management of common goods. Laudato si is a founding text of Christian commitment to climate action, which has inspired and marked a new generation of committed people. By clearly setting out the causes of the crisis we are experiencing, Pope Francis has reminded us who the fight against the climate crisis is aimed at: humanity as a whole.”

Her comments were echoed by  UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, who described Pope Francis as “a towering figure of human dignity, and an unflinching global champion of climate action as a vital means to deliver it”.

“Through his tireless advocacy, Pope Francis reminded us there can be no shared prosperity until we make peace with nature and protect the most vulnerable, as pollution and environmental destruction bring our planet close to ‘breaking point’,” he said. “He had a deep working knowledge of complex climate issues, and his leadership brought together those most powerful forces of faith and science to deliver unimpeachable truths, highlighting the costs of the climate crisis for billions of people.

The Pope continued to prioritise climate action in his final years, even as he battled with ill-health. In 2018,he convened some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies – including ExxonMobil, BP and Shell – for closed-door discussions about the climate imperative. After the meeting, some of the executives even  issued a statement acknowledging the importance of their  addressing global warming. A statement that few now are still putting into practice.

He frequently met with senior climate diplomats and campaigners, and in 2023 he published Laudate Deum, an apostolic exhortation which was even more stark than the earlier encyclical in its criticism of the forces that were driving the climate crisis. It specifically called out the US by pointing out its disproportionately high emissions.

“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,” he wrote.

Spreading the word

Francis saw cooperation among governments as key to addressing climate change, and during his time as pope, the Vatican hosted conferences with mayors, religious leaders, money managers, as well as oil companies, to find solutions.

He also criticised climate sceptics, lamenting the “certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church” He called on Catholics to divert investment away from fossil fuels.

Last August Reuters reported that he was writing a follow-up to his landmark 2015 encyclical on the protection of the environment and the dangers of climate change, “to bring it up to date”. He had made the surprise announcement in a brief, unprepared addition in a speech to a group of lawyers from Council of Europe countries.

Sadly this follow-up was not completed before his death, although it is understood that his very last audience, ironically held with American vice president James “JD” Vance, did include discussion of these concerns.

When the world’s biggest economy is retreating from climate activism and embracing a cynical climate ‘realism’ akin to outright denial, of its existence , the Vatican conclave of cardinals has a chance this month to stand out by electing another vocal environmentalist to lead, not just 1.4bn Catholics, but the entire world.