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A woman carries a bucket to fill at a village well.

A woman carries a bucket to fill at a village well. The drought affecting this area near Langue, Honduras, has gone on for several years, resulting from climate change. The local wells have either dried up, or they have locking hatches over them, to allow rationing of water in the community.

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Laudate Deum courageously addresses the economic and political powers as well as worldviews and paradigms that, by questioning scientific findings and promoting false technological solutions to the climate crisis, are hindering essential and timely actions said Pillay. Science has confirmed that new oil, gas, or coal fields are incompatible with keeping global temperature rise at the relatively safe limit of 1.5°C.

The scale of the crisis demands a global, coordinated, and integrated approach, Pillay added. 

The WCC, together with ecumenical, interfaith, and civil society partners, commits to engage in this space, specifically the 28th Conference of the Parties or COP28 which will be held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December, to speak truth to power and hold governments and corporations accountable for their historic responsibilities towards vulnerable communities and the planet,” he said. At the same time, Pope Francis encourages the efforts of households to reduce pollution and waste and to consume with prudence, creating a new culture where personal, family, and community habits are transformed and push the political sectors for positive change.”

Just relationships and reparations underpin reconciliation and unity, noted Pillay. If we are to overcome the climate crisis, humanity must learn to share resources, make reparations, transcend divisions, work together, and unify efforts to move the world to a more just and sustainable future,” he concluded. 

WCC general secretary remarks on Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation "Laudate Deum"