Pope flays US for leaving Paris pact

Rome, Oct. 16: Pope Francis implicitly criticised the United States on Monday for pulling out of the Paris agreement on climate change, praising it as a means to control the devastating effects of global warming.

The United States is the only country out of 195 signatories to have withdrawn from the accord, which aims to cut emissions blamed for the rise in temperatures.

US President Donald Trump announced the decision in June shortly after visiting the Pope, a strong supporter of the deal. At the time a Vatican official said the move was a “slap in the face” for the pope and the Vatican.

“We see consequences of climate change every day,” the Pope said in an address to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation at its headquarters in Rome. “Thanks to scientific knowledge, we know how we have to confront the problem and the international community has also worked out the legal methods, such as the Paris Accord, which sadly, some have abandoned,” he said.

Under the deal, United States had committed to reducing its own emissions by 26 to 28 percent, compared with 2005 levels, by 2025.

Many world leaders have criticised Mr Trump for deciding to pull out.

In his address to the UN agency, Pope denounced “negligence toward the delicate equilibriums of the ecosystems, the presumption of manipulating and controlling the limited resources of the planet, and the greed for profit.”