Pope, faith leaders sign joint climate appeal before summit

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis and dozens of religious leaders are making a joint appeal to governments to commit to ambitious targets at the upcoming U.N. climate conference. Francis is hosting a daylong conference Monday at the Vatican that climaxed with the signing and handover of the joint appeal to the head of the COP26 conference. For the religious leaders, care for the environment is a moral imperative to preserve God’s creation for future generations and to support communities most vulnerable to climate change. In Monday’s appeal, the faith leaders are urging governments to do their part but are also promising to lead their faithful into more sustainable behavior.