November 25, 2025
Ten years ago, in his Laudato Si’ encyclical, Pope Francis appealed to all of humanity, calling us to pay attention to science and commit to action on the environment. Ten years ago, a breakthrough agreement was penned at COP21 in Paris. Today, 10 years later, scientists have noted that the last decade has been the hottest ever recorded.
Since the Paris Agreement, nations have continued to commit to slowing down global warming and keeping temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius, but few nations have fulfilled those ambitions. And every year since 2015, the U.S. federal government sent official delegates to the annual conference of the parties — except this year.
As organizations working in the U.S., Canada, and the English-speaking Caribbean, we are disheartened but still hopeful as we unpack the results of COP30 in Belém, Brazil. Due to pressure from oil-producing states and industries, there was no mention of a just transition away from the primary culprit accelerating climate change: the burning of fossil fuels.
We believe that to face a problem squarely, it should be named. The science is clear: we must urgently and justly move away from the burning of fossil fuels in order to save humanity and all of creation from the worst impacts of climate change. Inspired by Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo XIV, we are not afraid to name fossil fuels as the primary driver of this existential crisis. It is disappointing that the Belém statement refused to name this problem.
For Catholics, climate chaos is also a moral issue. As Pope Leo said to the COP30 delegates: “Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat…one in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes.” Those who are poor have the fewest resources to escape or recover from these disasters, and it is our Gospel call to stand together with the most vulnerable in seeking a path forward in which “all may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
In Pope Leo’s first major address on climate change on October 1, he quotes Pope Francis, who in Laudate Deum, said: “the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international levels.”
Despite the inability of national and international actors to face reality and commit to real reductions, our organizations will continue to work to focus on the moral imperative to be better caretakers of God’s gift of creation. We take great hope and courage from the document of the Catholic Episcopal Conferences and Councils of the Global South. We will also make the scientific, economic, and cultural case to care for the envelope that contains all life, human and non-human, that is, the Earth itself.
We find additional hopeful actions here:
- This fall, thousands of Catholics in nearly every state in the U.S. joined the Catholic effort to heal our broken relationships with others, ourselves, Creation, and God, journeying on Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation.
- More dioceses, parishes, schools, and other Catholic institutions engage in projects and programs that live up to the challenges outlined in Laudato Si’.
- The November meeting of the U.S. Bishops included a workshop on the implementation of Laudato Si’.
- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will be implementing training activities to assist dioceses in more fully responding to Laudato Si’ and the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
- Hundreds of parishes and other faith communities are forming creation care teams or becoming Laudato Si’ Chapters, which work locally to urge more action, including advocating for stronger public policies.
- Many Catholic facility owners (parishes, schools, hospitals, universities, and others) are committing to reducing their emissions, creating healthier and higher-performing buildings while saving energy costs, and using those savings to support core mission activities.
We encourage all Catholics to join Catholic Climate Covenant and Laudato Si’ Movement to learn how we can live our faith fully to care for God’s gift of creation, to truly see our neighbors, be they across the street or around the world, and to protect and promote all life, both human and non-human. All is a gift, so let’s treasure it.
