VATICAN CITY (AFP, REUTERS) - Pope Francis, who has repeatedly called for action against climate change, is hoping to attend the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November, the Vatican said on Tuesday (May 25).
His team hopes to arrange his trip to coincide with that of the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
"We are hoping and we are keeping our fingers crossed. The request has been made and addressed to him (Francis)," said Cardinal Peter Turkson, who leads on environmental issues at the Vatican.
"Right now, I cannot confirm any such participation," he told reporters.
He added that contact had also been made with Patriarch Bartholomew's office and "they will want to synchronise the dates and try to be there together".
United States special climate envoy John Kerry raised the prospect of the Pope's presence in Glasgow when the two men met earlier this month.
He said the pontiff was a "convincing moral authority on the issue of the climate crisis".
COP26 will gather climate negotiators from 196 countries and the European Union, along with businesses, experts and world leaders in the Scottish city of Glasgow between Nov 1 and Nov 12.
The Pope also launched an initiative on Tuesday to make Catholic institutions, ranging from families to universities to businesses, environmentally sustainable in seven years, saying a "predatory attitude" towards the planet must end.
The Laudato Si Action Platform takes its name from the Pope's landmark 2015 encyclical on the need to protect the environment, reduce wasteful lifestyles, stem global warming and protect the poor from the effects of climate change.
In a video message for the launch, the Pope said the initiative would be "a seven-year journey that will see our communities committed in different ways to becoming totally sustainable, in the spirit of integral ecology".
He decried "our predatory attitude, which makes us feel that we are masters of the planet and its resources, and authorises us to make irresponsible use of the goods God has given us".
The initiative will have focus groups including families, parishes and dioceses, schools and universities, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, businesses, lay Catholic organisations, and orders of priests and nuns.
Since Laudato Si (Praised Be) was published in 2015, the Vatican and Catholic groups in the 1.3-billion-member Church around the world have taken many initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint.
The Vatican, the world's smallest state, has nearly eliminated single-use plastic, recycles most of its trash and makes its own compost for its gardens.
The Vatican development office will coordinate actions and provide guidance to groups and individuals.
Pope Francis strongly supports the goals of the 2015 UN Paris Climate Agreement to reduce global warming.
"These wounds (to the planet) manifest themselves dramatically in an ecological crisis without precedent, which affects the ground, the air, water and, in general, the ecosystem in which human beings live," he said.
"We have a great responsibility, especially with regard to the future generations. What world do we want to leave to our children and our young? Our selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible ways are threatening the future of our children."
