Following a swift, two-day conclave, Robert Prevost, the first American to hold the position, has been elected as Pope Leo XIV to succeed Pope Francis. He made his first public appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday evening.
While his stance on critical issues remains uncertain due to his reserved nature, Pope Leo assumes leadership of the Catholic Church during a period marked by significant global challenges. These include geopolitical conflicts spanning Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, as well as pressing global issues such as migration, human rights, and the climate crisis.
World leaders, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, are hopeful that Pope Leo will emulate Pope Francis’ strong climate advocacy, which earned him considerable recognition. Pope Leo has also been invited to attend the upcoming COP30 U.N. climate conference in Brazil.
Although Pope Leo’s dedication to environmental activism is not widely known, some indicators suggest a potential willingness to prioritize climate action.
Last year, during a Rome seminar focused on the global impacts of the climate crisis, Prevost emphasized the need to move “from words to action,” according to a report by the Vatican’s official news outlet.
Vatican News quoted him as saying that “‘Dominion over nature’—the task which God gave humanity—should not become ‘tyrannical.’ It must be a ‘relationship of reciprocity’ with the environment.”
Following this week’s announcement, several influential global figures expressed optimism that Pope Leo would continue Pope Francis’s commitment to addressing climate change.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “Our world is in need of the strongest voices for peace, social justice, human dignity and compassion. I look forward to building on the long legacy of cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See – nurtured most recently by Pope Francis – to advance solidarity, foster reconciliation, and build a just and sustainable world for all.”
An invitation to the annual U.N. climate summit was quickly extended to the new Pope. Ana Toni, CEO of the COP30 summit, stated in a that “The COP30 Presidency hopes to welcome Pope Leo XIV in Belém in November to help us reach a climate agreement that will mark a turning point in the creation of a more prosperous, safer, fairer, and sustainable future.”
In a posted on Thursday, Brazil’s Lula da Silva voiced his hope that Pope Leo would follow in his predecessor’s footsteps on multiple fronts, including climate. Brazil, with one of the world’s largest Catholic populations, is already experiencing the effects of the climate crisis. “I hope that he will continue the legacy of Pope Francis, whose main virtues were the incessant search for peace and social justice, the defense of the environment, dialogue with all peoples and all religions, and respect for the diversity of human beings.”
