"Catholic church calls on UN climate change conference to set goals", 26 Oct 2015

The Catholic church has called on UN negotiators convening in Paris at the end of November to agree a goal for “complete decarbonisation” by 2050, and set a legally binding agreement to limit global temperature increase.  The statement, which was announced by the Vatican on Monday and signed by Catholic officials from five continents, represents a sweeping attempt to link climate change to social justice and the exclusion of poor people who stand to lose the most from global warming...The 10-point plan urged negotiators to mind not only technical but also “ethical and moral dimensions of climate change”. It called on leaders to adopt a “fair, transformational and legally binding global agreement … that recognises the need to live in harmony with nature, and to guarantee the fulfilment of human rights for all”...“Those responsible for climate change have responsibilities to assist the most vulnerable in adapting and managing loss and damage, and to share the necessary technology and knowhow,” it said...