WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden convened the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22-23, which included a video message by Pope Francis. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, respective chairmen of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development and International Justice and Peace, have released the following statement in support of the Holy Father:
“Pope Francis addressed a virtual gathering of over 40 leaders from the highest levels of world government at the White House’s Leaders Summit on Climate, saying, ‘our concern is to see that the environment is cleaner, healthier and conserved, and to take care of nature so that it takes care of us.’
“We commend the Biden Administration’s commitment to climate stewardship and environmental justice, consistent with the decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. The Leaders Summit on Climate reflects renewed American leadership on climate change, and the pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 is an ambitious and welcome national goal. Consistent with the Holy Father’s call for integral ecology, the movement towards a net-zero emission world must also emphasize just transition so that working families who rely on the energy sector are not left behind.”