Explanatory Note on the Holy See’s Commitments to a Net-Zero Emissions Strategy

High-Level Virtual Climate Ambition Summit

12 December 2020

Explanatory Note

During the High-Level Virtual Climate Ambition Summit, organized on 12 December 2020 by the United Kingdom and France, in partnership with Chile and Italy, the Holy Father, through a Video Message, announced the adoption by the Holy See of a strategy aimed at achieving net-zero emissions.

As Pope Francis stated, this strategy will proceed along two lines:

1. The commitment of the Vatican City State to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

2. The commitment of the Holy See to promote education in integral ecology.

In announcing these commitments, the Holy Father recalled the importance of the fact that “the current pandemic and climate change […] call us to the responsibility of promoting, through a collective and shared commitment, a culture of care that places human dignity and the common good at the centre”[1].

To pursue the objective of climate neutrality by 2050[2], the Vatican City State (VCS) will implement projects both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance carbon sinks through, for example, reforestation processes. To this end, it will intensify its environmental management efforts in favor of the rational use of natural resources such as water and energy, energy efficiency, the upgrading of its technological infrastructure, sustainable mobility, reforestation, and the circular economy, including in the area of waste management. For many years, the VCS has been committed to promoting sustainable development for the protection of our common home. Particularly noteworthy are the environmental and energy policies implemented by the VCS to strengthen the use of renewable energy sources through the installation of photovoltaic and solar-cooling systems, as well as the upgrading of heating plants and their temperature-regulation systems, with the aim of achieving improved performance in terms of energy efficiency and reductions in atmospheric pollutant emissions. Significant progress has also been made in optimizing the use of water resources, reducing waste, developing the VCS tree inventory, and promoting responsible consumption (in 2019, the sale of single-use plastic products was abolished). Other significant aspects include the launch of a process to replace the vehicle fleet with electric or hybrid-powered vehicles, as well as promoting the principles of recovery and reuse in the field of waste management. Particular emphasis should be placed on the promotion of separate waste collection. The rate of separate collection increased from 42% in 2016 to 65% in 2020, with the objective of reaching 75% by 2023, while the rate for special waste stood at 99%. These are clear examples of the circular economy, such as the recovery of waste materials resulting from the maintenance of green areas and organic waste, transforming them into high-quality compost and returning to the territory products that have been taken from the environment. However, political, technical and operational measures are necessary but not sufficient to achieve the objective of “net-zero” emissions and, above all, to spread a “culture of care”: they must be accompanied by an educational process which, particularly and above all among young people, promotes new lifestyles and encourages a cultural model of development and sustainability centred on fraternity and on an alliance between human beings and the environment. This is where the second commitment announced by the Holy Father comes in, namely the promotion of education in integral ecology, through which the Holy See will intensify the initiatives it has already been undertaking for a long time. Indeed, the Magisterium has never failed to emphasize the urgent need to interpret the various crises of the contemporary world, which are deeply interconnected, by adopting an integral approach with profound educational implications. Catholic education — inclusive by nature and open to all, without distinction of faith — makes an important contribution in this direction, placing the person at the center and proposing the ethical values necessary for integral human development. The 216,000 Catholic schools, attended by more than 60 million pupils, and the 1,750 Catholic universities, with more than 11 million students, constitute an educational point of reference and contribute to the building of a new humanity. On this basis, on 12 September 2019 Pope Francis launched the proposal for a Global Compact on Education, which takes on an even deeper significance in a context of crisis that the pandemic has made more severe, especially for the most vulnerable. In a long-term vision inspired by fraternity, solidarity and the safeguarding of nature, the educational project of the Global Compact unfolds as a journey of shared growth that places the person and his or her environment at the center, deepening the authentic meaning of integral ecology, which encompasses human beings and development in all its dimensions, including their relationship with creation. From this perspective, in his announcement, the Holy Father also referred to the Economy of Francesco, which he supports. Through this initiative, young economists, entrepreneurs, and experts in finance and labour promote pathways to overcome energy poverty, a source of economic, social and cultural inequality; to place the stewardship of the common goods at the centre of national and international policies and of teaching in schools, universities and business schools throughout the world; and to encourage sustainable production, including in low-income countries, through the sharing of appropriate and advanced technologies. And they make this commitment first and foremost to themselves, making themselves available to devote the best years of their energy and intelligence to being the salt and leaven of the economy. Pope Francis urges us: “it is time to look ahead with courage and hope. […] a hope for peace and justice. A hope for beauty and goodness; a hope for social harmony”[3]. “It is time to dare to change course; let us not rob future generations of the hope for a liveable future”[4].