Pope Francis recently unveiled plans to transition Vatican City to 100% solar power in an effort to help curb the warming of the planet, Interesting Engineering reported.
The announcement was made via his motu proprio Fratello Sole, the pope's official proclamation to the Roman Catholic Church. He doubled down on the Vatican's commitments to international climate goals and called for its authorities to begin the construction of a solar plant.
Since the beginning of his tenure in 2013, Pope Francis has addressed the climate crisis several times and even called out skeptics and deniers, as CNN reported. He has also spoken out about dirty energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas. In 2022, the Vatican formed a new initiative on climate resilience through the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the city adopted electric vehicles in 2023, according to Interesting Engineering.
Though Vatican City may seem like a small contributor to the rising global temperatures, producing only about 0.0000443% of contributing emissions in 2022, per ACI Africa, its move toward renewable energy demonstrates an important commitment to the cause.
"There is a need to make a transition to a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, setting the goal of climate neutrality," Pope Francis said in Fratello Sole. "Mankind has the technological means to deal with this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic, and political consequences, and, among these, solar energy plays a key role."
According to the United Nations, dirty energy is the source of more than 75% of all planet-heating pollution. If we do nothing about rising global temperatures, the organization predicts a number of disastrous consequences, including more severe storms, that can threaten lives and damage homes.
For instance, researchers are predicting an unusually intense hurricane season in 2024 following Hurricane Beryl, which formed in late June and impacted parts of the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. The storm left more than 2 million people without power for an extended period and is estimated to have cost the U.S. between $28 billion and $32 billion.
Vatican City isn't the only place doubling down on its energy policies to help curb the impacts of a warming world. For instance, Wales is banning most new roadway projects to reduce carbon pollution, and towns in rural Virginia are adding over 1 million new jobs by focusing on clean energy instead of coal.
You can do your part by reducing your dependence on dirty energy. One way to achieve this is by changing the way you get around — you can start by riding your bike more, taking public transit when possible, making sure your car is running as efficiently as possible, or even leveling up to an electric vehicle.
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