The pontiff said the transition to less-polluting energy sources is a ‚challenge of epochal proportions,‘ and put the companies on notice for their search for fossil fuel reserves even after the Paris climate accord.<\/b>
\nVATICAN CITY \u2014 Pope Francis told leading oil executives Saturday that the transition to less-polluting energy sources \u201cis a challenge of epochal proportions\u201d and warned that satisfying the world\u2019s energy needs \u201cmust not destroy civilization.\u201d
The Vatican said Francis held a two-day conference with the executives as a follow-up to his encyclical three years ago that called on people to save the planet from climate change and other environmental ills.
Participants included the CEOs of Italian oil giant ENI, British Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Norway\u2019s Statoil as well as scientists and managers of major investment funds. Their remarks on the first day of the closed-door conference were not released by the Vatican.
While Francis lauded the oil executives for embedding an assessment of climate change risks into their planning strategies, he also put them on notice for their \u201ccontinued search for fossil fuel reserves,\u201d 2 1\/2 years after the Paris climate accord \u201cclearly urged keeping most fossil fuels underground.\u201d
\u201cCivilization requires energy, but energy must not destroy civilization,\u201d he implored.
Energy experts and those who advocate fighting climate change expressed doubts before the conference that it would amount to anything other than a PR opportunity for the companies to burnish their image without making meaningful changes.
In his remarks, the pope said he hoped the meeting gave participants the chance to \u201cre-examine old assumptions and gain new perspectives.\u201d
Francis said that modern society with its \u201cmassive movement of information, persons and things requires an immense supply of energy.\u201d And still, he said, as many as one billion people still lack electricity.
The pope said meeting the energy needs of everyone on the planet must be done in ways \u201cthat avoid creating environmental imbalances, resulting in deterioration and pollution that is gravely harmful to our human family, both now and in the future.\u201d
Frances also recalled his own appeal in the \u201cLaudato Si\u201d encyclical for an energy policy \u201caimed at averting disastrous climate changes that could compromise the well-being and future of the human family, and our common home.\u201d That includes transitioning to efficient, clean energy sources.
\u201cThis is a challenge of epochal proportions,\u201d he said Saturday. \u201cAt the same time it is an immense opportunity to encourage efforts to ensure fuller access to energy by less developed countries\u2026 as well as diversifying energy sources and promoting the sustainable development of renewable forms of energy.\u201d
The pope called for a \u201clong-term global strategy to provide energy security,\u201d along with \u201cprecise commitments\u201d to tackle the challenge of climate change.
He said it was \u201cdisturbing and a cause for real concern\u201d that the levels of carbon dioxide emissions and the concentrations of greenhouse gases remain high despite commitments taken in the 2015 Paris accord to fight global warming.
He urged participants to use their \u201cdemonstrated aptitude for innovation\u201d to address \u201ctwo of the great needs in today\u2019s world: the care of the poor and the environment.\u201d
He noted that the poor pay the highest price for climate change, often being forced to migrate due to water insecurity, severe weather and an accompanying collapse in agriculture.
\u201cThe transition to accessible and clean energy is a duty that we owe toward millions of our brothers and sisters around the world, poor countries and generations yet to come,\u201d the pope said.
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