Chair of Ministers of the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg, was today received by Pope Francis at the Vatican as the head of an official delegation of twenty Ministers of the Environment.
The Ministers visited Vatican City to convey a common message to the head of the Catholic Church. At the hearing, the participants discussed the encyclical of Pope Francis concerning the environment ('Laudato Si'), the challenges of the climate conference and the special summit on Sustainable Development to be held in New York at the end of this month.
The Minister stated that the call for the world to move towards "ecological conversion", contained in the encyclical, came at a crucial and decisive moment and would make an enriching contribution to the Paris summit.
"We will not solve the poverty crisis without resolving crises in the fields of climate and environment," commented Minister Dieschbourg. "And we will not overcome the major crises - migration, war and famine - without restoring the dignity of men and woman with respect to the earth which feeds us".
The Minister continued by expresssing: "I very much hope that the Paris conference will be a success. It commits us all and gives us a chance to redirect our economic and social model and redefine progress. At first glance the consequences of climate change and environmental pollution at large separate us, because they affect us all, but unevenly. The fight to restore our common home needs to unite us to be successful."
Preparations for the Paris conference are reportedly underway, with the mandate of the EU regarding the climate conference to be adopted at the Council of Environment Ministers on 18 September 2015 in Brussels.
Photo by Ministry of the Environment
