ROME – Pope Francis told CBS News this week that climate change deniers are “stupid” in the face of convincing evidence of the climate emergency.
“Some people are stupid (Nesios), and foolishly, even if you show them the results of the study, they won’t believe it,” the Pope said. Said CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell was asked what she would say to climate change deniers.
“Why? Because they don’t understand the situation, or for their own benefit, but climate change exists,” the 87-year-old Pope declared.
Pope Francis has never given an extensive one-on-one interview with an American television network during his 11 years as pontiff.
CBS will air a portion of the interview on the Evening News Wednesday night and a longer version on “60 Minutes” on May 20, followed by a one-hour prime-time special.
During the conversation, Francis was asked what he thought about those who described the violence in Gaza as “genocide.” The Pope repeated the word “genocide” and said he calls Gaza’s Catholic diocese every night around 7pm Roman time for updates.
Pope Francis on Monday reiterated his appeal for a concerted international effort to combat climate change, insisting that no one is exempt from this task. https://t.co/sEkJne8tzj
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 10, 2022
“There’s about 600 people there and they’ll tell you what’s going on,” he said. “Very difficult; very difficult.”
“Food is coming in, but they have to fight to get it,” he says. “Very difficult.”
Pope Francis has spoken out about the fight against climate change, calling global warming “one of the most serious and alarming phenomena of our time” and calling for “drastic measures” to combat climate change. ing.
“Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move quickly and decisively towards clean energy and a sustainable circular economy,” he recommended in September 2019. Ancient wisdom teaches us how to live in better relationship with our environment. ”
“Though the situation is not good and the planet is suffering, the window of opportunity is still open,” he warned. “There’s still time. Let’s not close it.”
He expressed the opinion that any skepticism about the purported “climate emergency” is “evil.”
The Pope also specifically singled out the United States as being responsible for the “climate emergency,” even though the country has one of the cleanest air in the world.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 25, 2024
“Given that per-person emissions in the United States are about twice as high as those of individuals living in China and about seven times the average for the poorest countries, widespread changes in irresponsible lifestyles are likely to be involved. “I can say that adopting the Western model will have a huge impact in the long term,” he said last October.
Among the “fools” the Pope denounced for their “perverse” skepticism about the climate crisis is a group of more than 1,600 eminent scientists, including two Nobel laureates, who last year In August, the United States announced the Global Climate Declaration, denying the existence of a climate crisis. The so-called “climate emergency”.
Among other things, this declaration claimed Climate models have proven inadequate at predicting global warming, carbon dioxide (CO2) is not a pollutant, and climate change is not causing more natural disasters. .
The text argues that global warming is “significantly lower than predicted by the IPCC based on modeled anthropogenic forcing” and that the gap between the real world and the modeled world is “unprecedented by the extent to which we are slowing down the pace of climate change.” “It shows that we are far from understanding.”
“There is no statistical evidence that global warming will intensify or increase the frequency of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts,” the document declares. “However, there is ample evidence that CO2 reduction measures are not only costly but harmful.”
It concluded that there is no such thing as a climate emergency. “Therefore, there is no need to panic or be alarmed.”
“We strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policies proposed for 2050. Let’s aim for adaptation, not mitigation. Whatever the cause, adaptation works.” added.
