Pope condemns denial, indifference, resignation on climate change

Pope Francis on Thursday condemned climate change deniers, those who are indifferent to the problem, and those who place too much confidence on technological solutions to it.

“We should avoid falling in these four perverse attitudes […]: denial, indifference, resignation and trust in inadequate solutions,” Francis said in a message to the ongoing world climate change conference in the western German city of Bonn.

Quoting from his pro-environment 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, the pope called for “a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”

Francis said he hoped the Bonn meeting could be productive and may “consolidate the will to take effective solutions to counteract the phenomenon of climate change and at the same time fight poverty and promote a truly integral human development.”