At a summit for mayors of 70 cities from around the world, Pope Francis spoke on climate change and its links to human trafficking, health problems, and unemployment.
At the event, titled 'Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of Cities,' the Pope and the mayors adopted a declaration highlighting the "very vital role" of cities "in the face of the emergencies attributable to human-induced climate change, social exclusion, and extreme poverty."
21 July 2015: At a summit for mayors of 70 cities from around the world, Pope Francis spoke on climate change and its links to human trafficking, health problems and unemployment. During the event, titled ‘Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of Cities,’ the Pope and the mayors signed a declaration highlighting the “very vital role” of cities “in the face of the emergencies attributable to human-induced climate change, social exclusion, and extreme poverty.”
Speaking on the negative side effects of urbanization, Pope Francis said the Pontifical Academy of Sciences had convened mayors and city governors at the event because they are “aware of the reality of humanity.” In addition to calling on local governments to put the environment and human trafficking at the top of their agenda, he urged the UN to “take a greater interest in this phenomenon, especially human trafficking caused by environmental issues, and the exploitation of people.” Emphasizing that these issues require the involvement of the UN, he further expressed the hope for the adoption of a basic and fundamental agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference.
Speaking on the Pope’s recent encyclical on climate change, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “His Holiness did not convene us here to ratify the status quo, but in fact to upend it.” Dubbing the encyclical a “call to sanity,” he asked, “Who in their right mind skimps on the things that allow them to sustain life? How do we justify holding back on any effort that may meaningfully improve the trajectory of climate change?…How could any version of business as usual make sense at this moment in history?”
The event’s declaration calls for boosting sustainable development financing through a “relentless pursuit of peace,” which will allow a shift away from military spending. It also calls for a bold climate agreement in December 2015, noting it may be the last chance to agree on arrangements to keep human-induced warming below 2°C.
The signatories commit to: “building…the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reducing their exposure to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters, which foster human trafficking and dangerous forced migration”; and “ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of modern slavery….”
The event was part of the symposium ‘Prosperity, People and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities.’ Mayors of major cities, local administrators and various UN representatives attended the events, which were held at the Vatican City, Holy See, on 21-22 July 2015. [Vatican Press Release] [Pope Francis Remarks] [Vatican Radio Press Release] [Vatican Event Announcement] [New York City Mayor Remarks] [Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of Cities Declaration]