Why the New Pope Leo XIV Could Shed New Light on the Climate Battle

Will the new light brought by Pope Leo XIV be able to bring the fight against the climate crisis, now obscured by new global imbalances, out of the darkness? This is a question that many ecologists, environmentalists and people concerned about the environment are asking themselves after the election of the new pontiff Robert Francis Prevost. In fact, people are wondering whether the American Pope will be able to propose messages that openly challenge the policies of another American, President Donald Trump , who today is contributing to further sinking the environmental issue, denying the climate crisis and canceling every effort made so far in an attempt to stop global emissions that are overheating the planet. The answer, according to the positions held by Pope Leo XIV during his career as cardinal, could be affirmative: Prevost has always supported the environmental policies of Pope Francis and the meaning of that Laudato Sì which, already in 2015, gave a great positive push to environmental policies.

The idea is that the new pope will continue in the same direction, but as he himself stated in November 2024, it will be necessary to move from "words to deeds". A step dictated by urgency, also in terms of those social inequalities to be reduced which is a central theme for the Church.

Interestingly, just the day before the new Pope was chosen, a new study by a team of international researchers was published in Nature Climate Change claiming that the richest 10% of the world is now responsible for two-thirds of global warming since 1990 , a fact that the new Pope has implicitly condemned in the past when speaking of the need to fight "tyrannical actions that benefit the few".

The new research reminds us that in essence the rich, with their high carbon footprint, are the main culprits of the climate crisis that, between rising temperatures and warming seas, are leading to extreme events and droughts that then translate into hunger and poverty in many less developed areas of the planet. Something that Pope Leo XIV was able to observe up close during his missions in Peru , a land to which he is very attached and among the most affected by the climate crisis, as well as in large parts of South America, including the Amazon where COP30 , the Conference of the Parties on climate, will take place in November, which could also include a speech by the new Pope. The same research speaks, due to the emissions of the rich, of social inequalities and climate injustices, underlining how the consumption and investments of the rich have had a disproportionate impact on extreme weather events and on the poorest communities.

Precisely on this theme, with clear words, the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had expressed himself only six months ago. "The dominion over nature must not become tyrannical" he had said. "It must instead be a "reciprocal relationship" with the environment, Prevost maintained.

During his speech, the current pontiff had in fact underlined the urgency of moving "from speech to action" by speaking about the environmental crisis , an action that requires a response rooted in the Doctrine of the Church and explained how the "dominion over nature" delegated by God to man must not be "despotic" given that he is "an administrator who must account for his work" in a relationship of "reciprocity" with the environment. "For this reason, our mission is to treat it as its Creator does" had said the new Pope condemning precisely "tyrannical actions for the benefit of a few", a phrase that still seems to point the finger precisely against that rich part of the world that today is responsible for two thirds of global emissions. Prevost has also underlined in the past the possible "harmful" consequences of technological developments , as well as highlighting examples of "light" such as those carried out by the Holy See in terms of environmental sustainability, from the installation of solar panels to electric vehicles and renewable energy promoted in the Vatican, a symbol of the Church's desire for a green revolution.

In this context, it will also be interesting to understand if now, as Pope, Prevost will once again expose himself against the policies of US President Donald Trump (in the past he contested him on issues such as immigration and expulsions of citizens) also on climate. Currently Trump, after the exit of the United States from the Paris Agreement , is relaunching every anti-climate policy , from cuts to science to the implementation of fossil fuels, fracking and even deep mining, all in opposition to climate multilateralism, which is necessary to find a solution to the growth of emissions. An unbridled denialism and obscurantism that, according to Gina McCarthy , former administrator of the EPA (The United States Environmental Protection Agency will ensure that when Trump leaves, he will "leave a trail of devastation behind him." Precisely in opposition to Trump and his denialist policies, Pope Leo XIV will have the opportunity to show his support for Laudato Si' and for the implementation of the path launched by Pope Francis to protect nature and the poorest people in the world and those most affected by the climate crisis. If he wants, he will have an international stage to do so in a few months when, in November, in Brazil , world leaders will gather at COP30 to try to forcefully address the climate issue, perhaps with the support of the new Pope in the name of those "facts" and not just words that are the doctrine of Leo XIV.