Pope to politicians: Be courageous, show vision on climate

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday urged political and economic leaders to show courage and long-range vision, hours after U.N. led-climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, ended in compromise on how to combat global warming.

Francis in remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square said the “cry of the poor, united to the cry of the Earth, resounded in the last days at the United Nations COP26 summit on climate change.”

“I encourage all those who have political and economic responsibilities to act immediately with courage and farsightedness,” he said. “At the same time, I invite all persons of good will to carry out active citizenry to care for the common house,” Francis said, referring to planet Earth.

The pontiff didn’t comment on the outcome of the two weeks of U.N. talks.

Nearly 200 nations agreed to a compromise deal aimed at keeping alive a global warming target. But a last-minute change diluted crucial language about the use of coal, a fossil fuel whose use is the biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Francis has made attention to the Earth’s environment a major plank of his papacy, dedicating an encyclical, or major document, to the moral imperative of responsibly protecting the planet.