Pope: Pull investments from businesses not committed to environment

Pope Francis. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis on Saturday urged people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one.

Francis spoke in a video message for an online event called “Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change.”

“Science tells us, every day with more precision, that we need to act urgently … if we are to have any hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change,” he said.

Other speakers and activists at the free, streamed TED event included actress Jane Fonda, Britain’s Prince William, former US Vice President Al Gore, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“The Earth must be worked and nursed, cultivated and protected. We cannot continue to squeeze it like an orange,” the Pope said.

Three action points

He listed three action points: better education about the environment, sustainable agriculture and access to clean water, and a transition away from fossil fuels.

“One way to encourage this change is to lead companies toward the urgent need to commit to the integral care of our common home, excluding from investments companies that do not meet (these) parameters … and rewarding those that (do),” he said.

He said the pandemic had made the need to address the climate crisis and related social problems even more pressing.

“The current economic system is unsustainable. We are faced with a moral imperative … to rethink many things,” he said, listing means of production, consumerism, waste, indifference to the poor, and harmful energy sources.

In June, a Vatican document urged Catholics to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to monitor companies in sectors such as mining for possible damage to the environment.

Zero-emission plan

“We must make sure each country has a plan to zero emissions,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “Billions of people around the world are already suffering from our failure to act.”

US economist Rebecca Henderson said “we let capitalism morph into something monstrous. The truth is business is screwed if we don’t fix climate change.”

“The good news is it is now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it. The bad news is we are running out of time,” said prominent Silicon Valley investor John Doerr.

According to Oxford professor and climate science scholar Myles Allen, “the fossil fuel industry knows how to stop global warming, but they are waiting for someone else to pay and nobody is calling them out on it.”

“What happens in the next 10 years will likely determine the state of the planet we hand over for future generations. Our children have every right to be alarmed,” said Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research director Johan Rockstrom.

Celebrities’ calls

Celebrities also issued powerful calls for people to mobilize and unify to confront the climate crisis.

“I want to cast my vote in favor of the planet,” said filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

Prince William said: “Young people no longer believe that change is too difficult. They believe that the climate crisis and the threat to our biodiversity deserve our full attention and ambition.”

“We can and need to be a part of this movement: eat local food, ride your bike more, understand what you are spending your money on, vote for people who share our vision. Let’s change the world,” said music star Prince Royce. —REPORTS FROM REUTERS AND AFP