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Solar energy is gaining traction everywhere, including at the Vatican. In an apostolic letter, Pope Francis announced that Vatican City will soon be powered by solar panels.
The letter that was titled “Brother Sun,” reported Euronews, was dated June 21, 2024 on the summer solstice which is the longest day of the year. The apostolic letter shows the Pope’s deep commitment to the environment.
He wrote: “It is necessary to transition to a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, aiming for climate neutrality.”
Commitment to sustainability
Pope Francis has a long-standing commitment to the environment. He stated his position on the climate crisis in 2015 when he announced that he would renew the dialogue about how to build the future of the planet in a more sustainable way.
The pontiff wrote in a letter called “Laudato Si’” in May 2015: “There is a strong scientific consensus indicating a troubling warming of the climate system. In recent decades, this warming has been accompanied by a steady rise in sea levels and an increase in extreme weather events.”
In 2022, the Vatican officially joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, reported Vatican News. This signaled Pope Francis’s intentions to contribute to the global challenges, related to humanity and the planet, to reign in climate change.
About the project
An agrivoltaic solar plant will be constructed at the Santa Maria di Galeria, a 424-hectare property on the edge of Rome that is owned by the Vatican and is now used for the transmission facilities for Vatican Radio. The solar power produced on the site will be used for Vatican Radio and will contribute to the energy needs of Vatican City.
The new initiative will combine renewable energy as well as take into consideration the agricultural use of the land, reported Euronews. The Pope appointed two commissioners with full authority to run the project and to work according to the 1951 agreement with the Italian government regarding the site.
In the Brother Sun letter: the pontiff wrote: “Humanity possesses the technological means to tackle this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic, and political consequences, with solar energy playing a fundamental role among these solutions.” The solar plant is a good first-step in that direction.
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