Statement of H.E. Archbishop Renato R. Martino
Apostolic Nuncio
Head of the Holy See Delegation
to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4 June 1992
The
people of the whole world look with keen interest and great expectations
to this United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The
challenge facing the international community is how to reconcile the
imperative duty of the protection of the environment with the basic
right of all people to development.
I. The centrality of the human person.
The Catholic Church approaches both the care and protection of the environment and all questions regarding development from the point of view of the human person. It is the conviction of the Holy See, therefore, that all ecological programmes and all developmental initiatives must respect the full dignity and freedom of whomever might be affected by such programmes. They must be seen in relation to the needs of actual men and women, their families, their values, their unique social and cultural heritage, their responsibility toward future generations. For the ultimate purpose of environmental and developmental programmes is to enhance the quality of human life, to place creation in the fullest way possible at the service of the human family.
The ultimate determining factor is the human person. It is not simply science and technology, nor the increasing means of economic and material development, but the human person, and especially groups of persons, communities and nations, freely choosing to face the problems together, who will, under God, determine the future. (1)
The word environment itself means "that which surrounds". This very definition postulates the existence of a center around which the environment exists. That center is the human being, the only creature in this world who is not only capable of being conscious of itself and of its surroundings, but is gifted with the intelligence to explore, the sagacity to utilize, and is ultimately responsible for its choices and the consequences of those choices. The praiseworthy heightened awareness of the present generation for all components of the environment, and the consequent efforts at preserving and protecting them, rather than weakening the central position of the human being, accentuate its role and responsibilities.
Likewise, it cannot be forgotten that the true purpose of every economic, social and political system and of every model of development is the integral advancement of the human person. Development is clearly something much more extensive than merely economic progress measured in terms of gross national product. True development takes as its criterion the human person with all the needs, just expectations and fundamental rights that are his or hers. (2)
Complementing respect for the human
person and human life is the responsibility to respect all creation. God
is creator and planner of the entire universe. The universe and life in
all its forms are a testimony to God's creative power, His Love, His
enduring presence. All creation reminds us of the mystery and love of
God. As the Book of Genesis tells us: "And God saw everything that He
had made, and behold, it was very good." (Gen 1:31)
II. The moral dimension.
In the very early stages that led to the convening of this Conference, the General Assembly emphasized that "in view of the global character of major environmental problems, there is a common interest of all countries in pursuing policies aimed at achieving a sustainable and environmentally sound development within a sound ecological balance." (3)
The Holy See has been and continues to be keenly interested in the issues which this Conference is addressing. During the laborious preparatory phases, the Holy See delegation has carefully and respectfully examined the many proposals of technological, scientific and political nature put forth and appreciates the contributions made by so many participants in the process. Faithful to its nature and its mission, the Holy See has continued to emphasize the rights and the duties, the well-being and the responsibilities of individuals and of societies. For the Holy See the problems of environment and development are, at their root, issues of a moral, ethical nature, from which derive two obligations: the urgent imperative to find solutions and the inescapable demand that every proposed solution meet the criteria of truth and justice.
"Theology, philosophy and science
all speak of a harmonious universe, of a "cosmos" endowed with its own
integrity, its own internal, dynamic balance. This order must be
respected. The human race is called to explore this order, to
examine it with due care and to make use of it while safeguarding its
integrity." (4) The Creator has placed the human beings at the center of
creation, making them the responsible stewards, not the exploiting
despots, of the world around them. "On the other hand, the earth is
ultimately a common heritage, the fruits of which are for the
benefits of all. This has direct consequences for the problem at
hand. It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to
accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses
of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of
subsistence. Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is
teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness -- both individual
and collective -- are contrary to the order of creation, an order which
is characterized by mutual interdependence." (5)
III. The resulting obligations: Stewardship and Solidarity.
The concepts of an ordered universe and a common heritage both point to the necessity of developing in the heart of every individual and in the activities of every society a true sense of stewardship and of solidarity.
It is the obligation of a responsible steward to be one who cares for the goods entrusted to him and not one who plunders, to be one who conserves and enhances and not one who destroys and dissipates. Humility, and not arrogance, must be the proper attitude of humankind vis-à-vis the environment. The exciting scientific discoveries of our century have enabled the human mind to pierce with equal success into the infinitesimally small as well as into the immeasurably large. The results have been ambivalent, for we have witnessed that, without ethics, science and technology can be employed to kill as well as to save lives, to manipulate as well as to nurture, to destroy as well as to build.
Responsible stewardship demands a consideration for the common good: no one person, no one group of people in isolation are allowed to determine their relationship with the universe. The universal common good transcends all private interests, all national boundaries, and reaches, beyond the present moment, to the future generations.
Hence, solidarity becomes an urgent moral imperative. We are all part of God's creation -- we live as a human family. The whole of creation is everyone's heritage. All equally created by God, called to share the goods and the beauty of the one world, human beings are called to enter into a solidarity of universal dimensions, "a cosmic fraternity" animated by the very love that flows from God. Education to solidarity is an urgent necessity of our day. We must learn again to live in harmony, not only with God and with one another, but with creation itself. The "Canticle of Creatures" of Francis of Assisi could well become the anthem of a new generation that loves and respects in one embrace the Creator and all God's creatures.
Responsible stewardship and genuine solidarity are not only directed to the protection of the environment, but, equally so, to the inalienable right and duty of all peoples to development. The earth's resources and the means to their access and use must be wisely monitored and justly shared. The demands for the care and protection of the environment cannot be used to obstruct the right to development, nor can development be invoked in thwarting the environment. The task of achieving a just balance is today's challenge.
The scandalous patterns of consumption and waste of all kinds of resources by a few must be corrected, in order to ensure justice and sustainable development to all, everywhere in the world. Pope John Paul II has reminded that: "Simplicity, moderation and discipline, as well as a spirit of sacrifice, must become part of everyday life, lest all suffer the negative consequences of the careless habits of a few." (6) The developing countries, in their legitimate ambition to improve their status and emulate existing patterns of development, will realize and counteract the danger that can derive to their people and to the world by the adoption of highly wasteful growth strategies hitherto widely employed, that have led humanity into the present situation.
New resources, the discovery of substitute new materials, determined efforts at conservation and recycling programmes have assisted in the protection of known reserves; the development of new technologies has the promise of using resources more efficiently.
For developing nations, at times rich in natural resources, the acquisition and use of new technologies is a clear necessity. Only an equitable global sharing of technology will make possible the process of sustainable development.
When considering the problems of environment and development one must also pay due attention to the complex issue of population. The position of the Holy See regarding procreation is frequently misinterpreted. The Catholic Church does not propose procreation at any cost. It keeps on insisting that the transmission of, and the caring for human life must be exercised with an utmost sense of responsibility. It restates its constant position that human life is sacred; that the aim of public policy is to enhance the welfare of families; that it is the right of the spouses to decide on the size of the family and spacing of births, without pressures from governments or organizations. This decision must fully respect the moral order established by God, taking into account the couple's responsibilities toward each other, the children they already have and the society to which they belong. (7) What the Church opposes is the imposition of demographic policies and the promotion of methods for limiting births which are contrary to the objective moral order and to the liberty, dignity and conscience of the human being. At the same time, the Holy See does not consider people as mere numbers, or only on economic terms. (8) It emphatically states its concern that the poor not be singled out as if, by their very existence, they were the cause, rather than the victims, of the lack of development and of environmental degradation.
Serious as the problem of interrelation among environment, development and population is, it cannot be solved in an over-simplistic manner and many of the most alarming predictions have proven false and have been discredited by a number of recent studies. "People are born not only with mouths that need to be fed, but also with hands that can produce, and minds that can create and innovate." (9) As for the environment, just to mention one instance, countries with as few as 5% of the world population are responsible for more than one quarter of the principal greenhouse gas, while countries with up to a quarter of the world population contribute as little as 5% of the same greenhouse gas.
A serious and concerted effort aimed at protecting the environment and at promoting development will not be possible without directly addressing the structural forms of poverty that exist throughout the world. Environment is devastated and development thwarted by the outbreak of wars, when internal conflicts destroy homes, fields and factories, when intolerable circumstances force millions of people to desperately seek refuge away from their lands, when minorities are oppressed, when the rights of the most vulnerable -- women, children, the aged and the infirm -- are neglected or abused.
"The poor, to whom the earth is entrusted no less than to others, must be enabled to find a way out of their poverty. This will require a courageous reform of structures, as well as new ways of relating among peoples and States." (10)
Finally, the Holy See invites the international community to discover and affirm that there is a spiritual dimension to the issues at hand. Human beings have the need for and the right to more than clean air and water, to more than economic and technological progress. Human beings are also fragile and an alarm must be sounded against the poisoning of the minds and the corruption of the hearts, both in the developed and developing worlds. The dissemination of hatred, of falsehood and vice, the traffic and use of narcotic drugs, the ruthless self-centeredness which disregards the rights of others -- even the right to life -- are all phenomena that cannot be gauged by technical instrument, but whose chain-effects destroy individuals and societies. Let us strive to give to every man, woman and child a safe and healthy physical environment, let us join forces in providing them with real opportunities for development, but, in the process, let us not allow them to be robbed of their souls. On a closely related level, the aesthetic value of the environment must also be considered and protected, thus adding beauty and inspiring artistic expression to the developmental activities.
The Holy See regards this
Conference as a major challenge and a unique opportunity that the people
of the world are presenting to the international community. The problems
facing today's world are serious indeed and even threatening.
Nonetheless, the opportunity is at hand. Avoiding confrontation, and
engaging in honest dialogue and sincere solidarity, all forces must be
joined in a positive adventure of unprecedented magnitude and
cooperation that will restore hope to the human family and renew the
face of the earth.
Statement by H.E. Archbishop Celestino Migliore
Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
at the High-level segment of the 14th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the Economic and Social Council
New York, 11 May 2006
Mr.
Chairman,
Let me first of all congratulate you and the bureau, and commend you for the
organization of the work of this year’s CSD.
Recent progress in sustainable development reported in the Commission’s
preparatory documentation is to be welcomed, but these are modest successes when
placed beside a sobering global picture. Only the integration of environmental
and developmental concerns into policymaking and a committed political
follow-through will lead to the essential improvement in living standards for
all, while assuring our world’s environmental future.
In addition to the irrational destruction of the natural environment, there has
been the more serious destruction of the human environment. Although people are
rightly worried about preserving natural habitats, too little effort has been
made to safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology. Such an
ecology will place the human person at the centre of environmental concerns,
while simultaneously promoting an urgent sense of human responsibility for the
Earth, be it at the level of states, commerce or individuals. Happily, as the
essential symbiosis of life on the planet becomes plain, there is already a
growing acknowledgement that good environmental policies are by extension good
people policies too.
One such area is that of water. Within twenty years the reserves of water per
person will be a third of what they were in 1950 and, by 2025, a third of the
world’s nations will have catastrophically low levels of water. Even today,
34,000 people die every day for lack of clean water: one and a half billion
people do not have access to clean water, a figure which could rise to 3 billion
by 2025. This is already a humanitarian and environmental crisis, as well as a
question of social justice. Encouraging change in consumption patterns and in
increasing access to water supply and sanitation is also a matter of
developmental common sense, since both yield very high rates of return, making
them extremely attractive from a social investment standpoint. For this reason,
my delegation is pleased to salute the Ministerial Declaration of the Fourth
World Water Forum in Mexico City which reaffirmed the critical importance of
water in all aspects of sustainable development.
Related to this is another essential question, that of food security. From
sub-Saharan Africa to the CIS, there has actually been an increase in numbers of
hungry people in the last three years although, in world terms, the general
picture appears to have improved. There can be little doubt that changing
climactic conditions have had an impact here. We can no longer pretend that
human activity has little or no impact on these matters.
Energy is central to achieving sustainable development goals. With more than 1.6
billion people still lacking access to electricity worldwide and 2.4 billion
using traditional biomass, improving access to reliable, affordable and
environmentally friendly energy services is a major challenge to poverty
eradication and the achievement of the MDGs. There is also an urgent need to
transform global energy systems, as current approaches are causing serious harm
to human health, the Earth’s climate and ecological systems on which all life
depends, and because access to clean, reliable energy services is a vital
prerequisite for alleviating poverty.
While the absolute amount of worldwide renewable energy use has been rising
significantly, the overall share of renewables in the world’s total primary
energy supply has increased only marginally over the past three decades. Some
renewable energy technologies are already mature and economically competitive,
but the development of renewables continues to be a human, ecological, economic
and strategic necessity and should have a priority in public research projects.
For example, in heating, lighting and eventually transport, solar photovoltaics
appear to offer almost unlimited sustainable potential. Research in this and
other fields should be vigorously pursued.
The transportation sector is rightly found in all of the focal themes of the
fourteenth and fifteenth sessions of the Commission, as it accounts for a large
proportion of worldwide energy demand, is a major source of air pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions and is an important element of industrial development.
The continued market penetration of various innovations needs to be encouraged
through appropriate economic incentives and ongoing research, development and
deployment. Reliance in industry, transport, commerce and defense upon
traditional combustion engines is already a century old. For several reasons,
their replacement with clean, renewable alternatives is long overdue.
The Earth’s climate system has demonstrably changed on both global and regional
scales since the pre-industrial era. Agenda 21 recognizes the legitimate
priority needs of developing countries for the achievement of sustained economic
growth and the eradication of poverty, but this clearly cannot be achieved at
any price. Even if greenhouse gas emissions were to be stabilized at present
levels – an unlikely eventuality as things stand - the global warming trend and
sea-level rise would continue for hundreds of years, due to the atmospheric
lifetime of some greenhouse gases and the long timescales on which the deep
ocean adjusts to climate change. In such circumstances, moves to turn the United
Nations Environment Programme into a more robust United Nations Environment
Organization appear both prudent and welcome, in order to achieve a truly
integrated approach to sustainable development in which both halves of that term
are given their due weight.
Mr. Chairman, the dovetailing of environmental and developmental concerns with
commercial and industrial policymaking will surely lead to a safer, more
prosperous future for all. No nation can achieve this alone, but member states
working together can and must do so, if sustainable patterns in these fields,
essential to our common future, are to be assured.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
~ Courtesy of www.holyseemission.org
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