Pope Francis issued a stark reminder about the effects of climate change on Wednesday, warning that “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.”
“Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident,” the pope said in a letter titled Laudate Deum, or Praise God.
“No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we have witnessed extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth that are only a few palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects everyone,” the letter added.
It also made a point of stressing that “specific climate changes provoked by humanity are notably heightening the probability of extreme phenomena that are increasingly frequent and intense.”
Pope Francis has made climate change a key pillar of his papacy. His 2015 encyclical, the highest level teaching document a pope can issue, signalled a shift for the Catholic Church.
Since then, the pope has made repeated calls for politicians to take concrete action to tackle climate change.
He also took aim at "irresponsible lifestyles", particularly in the Western world.
US were about two times greater than those living in China, and about seven times greater than those in the poorest countries.
The pope said a "broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model", would have a "significant long-term impact".
"To say that there is nothing to hope for would be suicidal, for it would mean exposing all humanity, especially the poorest, to the worst impacts of climate change."
He also leveled blame at leaders and businesses which he said prioritize short-term profits and gains over climate action. “Regrettably, the climate crisis is not exactly a matter that interests the great economic powers, whose concern is with the greatest profit possible at minimal cost and in the shortest amount of time.”
He even directed criticism at his own church, referring to “certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church.” 
The pope says he hopes COP28 proceedings produce “binding forms of energy transition that meet three conditions: that they be efficient, obligatory and readily monitored.”
Pope Francis has in recent years been outspoken about the need for urgent climate action. In 2021, he addressed a gathering of youth climate activists, thanking them for their vision and encouraging them to continue their efforts “for the good of humanity.”
“It is said that you are the future, but in these matters, you are the present. You are those who are making the future today, in the present,” he said at the time.
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