Politics "Brother Sun": Vatican to be supplied with solar energy in future
The Vatican is to be supplied entirely with solar power in future. In a letter entitled "Brother Sun" on Wednesday, Pope Francis ordered the construction of a photovoltaic plant on a piece of land north of Rome that belongs to the Papal States as extraterritorial territory. The plant in Santa Maria di Galeria is intended to supply not only the Vatican Radio transmitter there with electricity, but the entire Vatican.
26.06.2024, 19:55
SDA
"There must be a transition to a sustainable development model that reduces the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality," reads the letter signed by Francis. Humanity has the technological means to manage this ecological change and its harmful social, economic and political consequences. This includes solar energy.
With the construction of the plant, the Pope wants to contribute to the efforts of all states to find an appropriate response to climate change in accordance with their respective responsibilities and capabilities. It initially remained unclear when exactly the photovoltaic system in Santa Maria di Galeria would be installed and go into operation.
Pope Francis attaches great importance to environmental protection. In the spirit of his environmental encyclical "Laudato Si'" from 2015 and his apostolic letter "Laudate Deum" from 2023, the Vatican wants to become climate-neutral. Last year, for example, Francis decided to completely replace the Vatican's vehicle fleet with electric cars by 2030.
