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Investors should remove their support from companies not committed to the environment, says Pope Francis.
On Saturday he added his voice to calls from a number of world leaders for an more environmentally sustainable economic model.
Speaking in a video message for an online event called “Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change”, Francis said:
“Science tells us, every day with more precision, that we need to act urgently … if we are to have any hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change.”
Francis told those at the event that the three key actions needed to ensure we avoid the predicted catastrophes are:
- better education about the environment
- sustainable agriculture and access to clean water
- a transition away from fossil fuels.
“One way to encourage this change is to lead companies towards the urgent need to commit to the integral care of our common home, excluding from investments companies that do not meet [these] parameters … and rewarding those that [do],” he said.
The pressing need to address the climate crisis and related social problems is even more urgent, he said during the online event.
“The current economic system is unsustainable. We are faced with a moral imperative … to rethink many things.”
Francis suggested aspects of our current system we can address if we are committed to the environment and its future.
These include the means of production, consumerism, waste, indifference to the poor, and harmful energy sources.
In June, a Vatican document urged Catholics to de-invest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to monitor companies in sectors such as mining for possible damage to the environment.
Other speakers and activists at the online event included actress Jane Fonda, Britain’s Prince William, former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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