COP26 President welcomes Vatican’s support to highlight faith leaders’ role on climate action

Alok Sharma highlights four COP26 goals on visit to Vatican City

• Alok Sharma, COP26 President-Designate meets with senior Holy See officials, including Cardinal Parolin
• Faith and religious leaders have a key role on tackling climate change and helping protect the most vulnerable communities
• COP26 Faith and Science event in Rome in the autumn was discussed

COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma, completed a visit this morning to the Vatican during which he welcomed the continued support from the Holy See on climate action as we move towards the COP26 climate conference in November.

Mr Sharma met with Vatican officials, including His Eminence, Cardinal Parolin. In addition to discussing the steps the Vatican State has taken itself to reduce its emissions, Mr Sharma highlighted the four COP26 goals: limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, adapting to protect communities and natural habitats, mobilising climate finance and working together to accelerate action.

All faiths have an important role to play on climate change, leading by example and mobilising people of faith to take action. Pope Francis committed the Vatican City State to net zero by 2050 at the Climate Ambition Summit last December.

Speaking after his visit Mr Sharma said:

A cross-society approach is essential if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to less than 1.5 degrees alive.

Faith leaders are an integral part of this approach and I was honoured to visit Vatican City to discuss this.

His Holiness, Pope Francis, has committed the Vatican State to a net zero future and I hope his leadership and moral standing across the world will set a powerful example to others.

A Faith and Science: Towards COP26 event will be held in Rome in the autumn and as part of his visit, Mr Sharma was able to look forward to the event and discuss the mobilising of leaders from the world’s major faiths to build momentum ahead of COP26.

• The COP26 President Designate visited the Vatican on Monday, 10 May, before moving on to an official visit to Italy.
• Following his visits to the Vatican and Italy, he will now fly to Spain.
• The Faith and Science: Towards COP26 event will see religious leaders and scientists meeting in Rome in autumn 2021, in partnership with the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See and the British Embassy to the Holy See.
• The meeting will take place after the preparatory COP26 events in Milan: the world conference dedicated to young people “Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition” and the Pre-COP26 (28 September to 2 October 2021).
• In preparation for the Faith and Science event, the British and Italian Embassies, together with the Holy See, are convening a series of virtual meetings. The first one took place on 4 February.
• Follow @UKinHolySee@ItalytoHolySee@WiltonPark for updates. Updated information can also be found on Wilton Park website.