Dubai will host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) from November 30 to December 12, 2023, at Expo City Dubai to unite the world towards agreement on bold, practical and ambitious solutions to the most pressing global challenge of our time. Review the schedule of the conference is here
Pope Francis said he will attend the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, becoming the first pontiff to address such a high-level summit. One month earlier, on Oct. 4, the pope released Laudate Deum, a 13-page follow-up to Laudato Si, teaching about the urgency of the climate crisis and the ways the annual UN conferences need to be more effective.
The following quotes from Laudate Deum insight highlights the pope’s concerns and hopes for the climate and COP28. “COP28 can represent a change of direction, showing that everything done since 1992 was in fact serious and worth the effort, or else it will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far.”
Gravity of the Climate Crisis and Its Effect on People
Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here …. 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. LD5
It is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons…. in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc. LD2