world is on a fast-track to disaster after decades of inaction. “If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us,” he writes. Bemoaning the “remarkable” weakness of political responses to this, Francis accuses the sceptics of cynically ignoring or manipulating the scientific evidence.
“There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good and manipulating information so that their own plans will not be affected,” he writes. “We know how unsustainable is the behaviour of those who constantly consume and destroy, while others are not yet able to live in a way worthy of their human dignity,” he adds, saying the time has come for parts of the world to accept decreased growth. – Conflict and war – The consequences of climate change, he argues, will include a rise in sea levels that will directly threaten the quarter of the world’s population that lives near or on coastlines, and will be felt most acutely by developing countries.
Highlighting warnings that acute water shortages could arise within decades, he writes that, “the control of water by large multinational business may become a major source of conflict in this century”. He adds: “It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars,” with the ever-present risk that nuclear or biological weapons could be used. One of the strongest themes in the encyclical is that rich countries must accept responsibility for having caused climate change and should “help pay this debt” by cutting their carbon emissions and helping the developing world adopt sustainable forms of energy generation.
“The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and
