On June 10, 2002, Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I issued a declaration on the environment. The introduction to the declaration is stated below:
"We are gathered here today in the spirit of peace for the good of all human beings and for the care of creation. At this moment in history, at the beginning of the third millennium, we are saddened to see the daily suffering of a great number of people from violence, starvation, poverty and disease. We are also concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air and land, brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits."
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople addressed the United Nations of the Parties (COP 24) in Poland, December 3-14, 2018. He emphasized the collective responsibility among all citizens to alleviate the climate problems. One key point includes the urgency to focus on lighter carbon footprints to preserve the Earth to assist in alleviating poverty and suffering.
