At the time of writing this article, CAFOD has been responding to emergencies that have occurred in Indonesia, following a massive earthquake that struck the west coast of Sumatra, in the Philippines, where floods have left hundreds of thousands of families homeless around the capital, Manila and in Samoa where a devastating tsunami has struck and in Guatemala where food shortages are causing great concerns.

At the same time, world leaders are meeting to reach agreements on Climate Change legislation which will culminate in a meeting of the United Nations in Copenhagen in December. People in the developing countries are already suffering from the devastating effects of the changing climate with severe weather conditions like those described above and also in droughts which affect their harvests, as is happening in Kenya and Eastern African countries, which were the focus of our recent Fast Day appeal. These people have done the least to cause pollution and yet they are bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change. They are affected first and worst.

We want a global climate change deal that puts the world’s poorest people at its heart by:

• Helping people flourish in developing countries by supporting their right to sustainable development. The poorest have done least to cause climate change; they should not be the ones who pay the price.
• Providing necessary support for developing countries – who are hit first and hardest by climate change – to adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. This includes additional aid for adaptation, as well as access to clean, green technology.
• Tackling the root causes of the problem by cutting emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Industrialised countries must commit to more than 40 per cent cuts, based on 1990 levels, by 2020.

Pope Benedict sent this message to participants in the UN summit on climate change, which was held in New York on 22nd September.

“I wish to reflect today upon the relationship between the Creator and ourselves as guardians of His creation”, says Benedict XVI speaking English. “In so doing I also wish to offer my support to leaders of governments and international agencies who are meeting at the United Nations to discuss the urgent issue of climate change.

“The Earth is indeed a precious gift of the Creator who, in designing its intrinsic order, has given us guidelines that assist us as stewards of His creation. Precisely from within this framework, the Church considers that matters concerning the environment and its protection are intimately linked with integral human development. In my recent Encyclical, ‘Caritas in Veritate’, I referred to such questions recalling the ‘pressing moral need for renewed solidarity’ not only between countries but also between individuals, since the natural environment is given by God to everyone, and so our use of it entails a personal responsibility towards humanity as a whole, particularly towards the poor and towards future generations.

“How important it is then, that the international community and individual governments send the right signals to their citizens and succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the environment! The economic and social costs of using up shared resources must be recognised with transparency and borne by those who incur them, and not by other peoples or future generations. The protection of the environment, and the safeguarding of resources and of the climate, oblige all leaders to act jointly, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the world. Together we can build an integral human development beneficial for all peoples, present and future, a development inspired by the values of charity in truth. For this to happen, it is essential that the current model of global development be transformed through a greater, and shared, acceptance of responsibility for creation: this is demanded not only by environmental factors, but also by the scandal of hunger and human misery”.

The Holy Father concluded by inviting participants in the UN summit “to enter into their discussions constructively and with generous courage. Indeed, we are all called to exercise responsible stewardship of creation, to use resources in such a way that every individual and community can live with dignity, and to develop ‘that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God”.

If you have not already made your voice heard on this urgent issue, you can read what other people have said as well as sending your own message to world leaders by visiting: www.cafod.org.uk/take-action/climate/climate-justice