It will be the first time in his papacy that the pope, 86, who is also a head of state, has so many high-level, one-on-one meetings with counterparts and others in such a short amount of time.

The pope's position on climate change is well known, so the event will give him an opportunity to connect in person with Arab and other world leaders to discuss the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Francis will be in Dubai from Dec 1 to 3. The conference runs from Nov 30 to Dec 12.

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The 84-year-old pontiff has returned to his home in the Vatican after convalescing from his July 4 operation. He is expected to resume normal activity in August.

Scotland's Catholic bishops say they are "delighted to hear" they may get to meet him during the November conference. They have written "expressing their prayerful support" as he recovers from colon surgery.

A spokesman said: "Having written to the Holy Father to assure him of a warm welcome, should he attend the conference, they are delighted to hear that he does hope to attend and would be glad to meet with them in Glasgow.

"The pope will be in Scotland for a very short time, primarily at the Cop26 conference. While many pastoral, ecumenical and interfaith gatherings would be desirable while he is with us, time constraints sadly mean such a full programme will not be possible."

The pontiff has made environmental appeal a signature of his papacy. He called climate change "one of the most serious and worrying phenomena of our time" at the United Nations climate action summit in 2019.

On Oct 4, the Vatican will host a major gathering of world religious leaders and scientists. They will take a common stand to raise the stakes ahead of the conference.

The conference, called "Faith and Science: Towards COP26," is being organised by Britain and Italy. It will bring together some 40 leaders from the world's major religions and 10 scientists. They will issue a joint appeal for COP26.

The pope criticised former U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Paris accord to limit global warming. The Vatican welcomed President Joe Biden's return to the accord.

Biden's climate envoy John Kerry met Francis in May. Kerry said he hoped the pope would attend COP26 because the pontiff has the moral authority to sway public opinion about climate change.

Sources

Glasgow Live

Reuters

The Vatican joined oil companies, investors and environmentalists in signing a statement endorsing "carbon pricing" and so-called "climate disclosures" to shareholders.

Francis, oil giants and others endorsed carbon pricing — usually in the form of taxes or cap-and-trade schemes — at the end of a closed-door meeting at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

During the summit preceding the meeting, Francis had explained to them and other participants that climate change "threatens the very future" of humanity.

The "doomsday predictions" can no longer be met with disdain. "Time is running out!" he urged.

"Deliberations must go beyond mere exploration of what can be done and concentrate on what needs to be done.

"We do not have the luxury of waiting for others to step forward, or of prioritising short-term economic benefits.

"The climate crisis requires our decisive action, here and now, and the Church is fully committed to playing her part," he said.

This is the second year that oil executives have gathered in Rome at the invitation of the Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development and Notre Dame University's Mendoza College of Business.

The theme of this year's meeting is "The Energy Transition and Care for our Common Home".

Francis said a significant development in this past year was the release of a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This warns that effects on climate will be catastrophic if the threshold of 1.5ºC outlined in the Paris Agreement goal is crossed.

"The report warns ... that only one decade or so remains in order to achieve this confinement of global warming," Francis said.

"We must take action accordingly, in order to avoid perpetrating a brutal act of injustice towards the poor and future generations.

"The poor bear the brunt of the climate crisis," he noted.

Francis said courage will be needed to respond to "the increasingly desperate cries of the earth and its poor".

He also said a just transition to cleaner energy, which is called for in the Preamble to the Paris Agreement, could generate new jobs, reduce inequality and improve the quality of life for those affected by climate change.

In addition, carbon pricing is "essential if humanity is to use the resources of creation wisely".

Finally Francis said that, in relation to transparency in reporting climate risk, "open, transparent, science-based and standardized reporting is in the common interests of all".

He finished on an optimistic note saying: "there is still hope and there remains time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change provided there is prompt and resolute action…"

Source

• Axios
• Vatican News
• Crux Now
• Global Citizen
• The Western Journal
• Images:TED.com