Read at the 2022 Mediterranean Conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Jordan on Monday, a Vatican statement warned vaguely that climate change constitutes “a common threat to the security and stability” of the whole Mediterranean region, and urged the population to find ways to keep warm and pay its bills this winter without the assistance of cheap oil and gas.
The “severe lack of energy supplies… will likely put further strain on many families and industries already affected by the economic crisis,” the statement acknowledges. Nevertheless, “Irrespective of the concrete threat posed by the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis has underscored the urgent need to strengthen joint efforts to build energy security and transition away from fossil fuels.”
The Vatican also claims that “the global security landscape, including energy and climate security, has changed dramatically since Russia launched its war of aggression in February this year” — ignoring that many European nations have only themselves to blame for their current energy predicament, since they voluntarily curbed domestic energy production in the name of a “green transition” and thus made themselves dependent on Russian fuel.
As European nations scramble to figure out how to meet the energy scarcity that threatens to leave many citizens out in the cold and unable to pay their fuel bills, the Vatican’s message seems to be: “Let them eat solar.”