Pope Francis urges action against climate change, says 'cannot squeeze Earth like orange'

Pope Francis on October 10 called for an urgent action to tackle the climate crisis on the Earth and added that people should not continue to “squeeze it like an orange”. In a pre-recorded video message for a TED conference, the pontiff said COVID-19 pandemic has drawn focus on the social-environmental challenge that is faced by the planet. Referring to the present as a “historic moment” which is marked with unprecedented challenges, Francis said that the Earth must be worked and “nursed” and protected from the drastic climate change.

"We are living during a historic moment marked by difficult challenges, as we all know...The world is shaken by the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlights yet an even bigger challenge,  the socio-environmental crisis."

"The Earth must be worked and nursed, cultivated and protected. We cannot continue to squeeze it like an orange,” he added.

For handling the issue of climate change, Pope Francis laid out three paths of action, including the promotion of environmental education which is based on scientific data and an ethical approach, assurance of drinking water and food supply through agriculture, and promotion of transformation from fossil fuels to less hazardous energy resources. Noting that humanity only has “few years” that scientists have calculated are less than 30, the pontiff called for a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gasses. 

“We have just a few years, scientists calculate roughly fewer than 30, to drastically reduce the emissions of gas and the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere,” the pontiff said. 

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Global warming will increase sea-level irrespective of Paris goals

The protests in Germany against deforestation come as a recent study states that global warming in the Antarctic will end up increasing the sea levels by at least two and a half metres even if the goals of the 2015 Paris Accord are met. 

While the main goal of the 2015 Paris climate accord is to limit the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius, researchers have found out that the world has warmed up another 0.9 degrees Celcius.

Researchers have said that Antarctica is “committed to becoming virtually ice-free” and in some instances, these losses will gradually become irreversible leading to the disappearance of many coastal cities and cultural heritage sites. 

The study said, “In particular, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet does not regrow to its modern extent until temperatures are at least one degree Celsius lower than pre-industrial levels. Our results show that if the Paris Agreement is not met, Antarctica’s long-term sea-level contribution will dramatically increase and exceed that of all other sources.”

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Inputs/Image: AP