PANAJI
Archbishop of Goa and Daman Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão has renewed the Global South’s appeal for decisive climate action, stressing the moral duty of the Global North and urging the world to stop “finding distractions” and focus on what is urgently required to protect the planet.
Cardinal Ferrão”President of both the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC)”is attending COP30 in Brazil as Churches from the Global South presented a joint document offering what they describe as a moral and spiritual roadmap for confronting the climate emergency.
In an interview with Vatican News on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Cardinal noted that the document had been “well received,” particularly for its firm insistence on upholding the 1.5°C temperature threshold and for anchoring climate action in the Church’s vision of integral ecology.
He said the text “highlights the relationality between the Creator, creation, and human beings,” and emphasised that ecological conversion must engage “the heart, the mind, the soul, and socio-economic and political structures” to respond to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” including Indigenous communities, migrants, and women and girls.
Global North’s ecological debt
At a symposium of Church leaders from the Global South, Cardinal Ferrão underlined that Asia is “on the frontline of ecological and economic injustice,” reiterating that wealthier nations bear a moral responsibility because they have contributed most to the climate crisis.
“They must pay their ecological debt,” he said. “That means leading the fossil-fuel phaseout, achieving carbon neutrality, and adhering to their climate-finance commitments.”
He added that climate finance must prioritise grants and public funds”especially for loss and damage”rather than loans, and should bolster adaptation, capacity building, and technology transfer to poorer regions.
Warning against ‘green capitalism’
In the Vatican News report which was reproduced by Catholic Connect of the CCBI, Cardinal Ferrão also voiced caution about what he termed “activist economies and green capitalism,” noting that certain proposals enable major polluters to delay real transformation.
“We need clear timelines and targets to phase out fossil fuels,” he said. “We must halt distractions such as bridging fuels, carbon-capture technologies, and carbon trading.”
He stressed that the shift to renewables must be fair, ensuring workers and communities reliant on fossil-fuel industries receive training and social protection.
Indigenous rights, women’s leadership
The shared document from the Global South advocates for safeguarding Indigenous lands and recognising Indigenous knowledge within climate-resilience strategies.
“Forests must be protected, and Indigenous tenure rights guaranteed,” Cardinal Ferrão said. He added that women”who disproportionately suffer the impacts of environmental harm”must be given platforms to voice their priorities, assured equal access to land, trained in sustainable methods, and protected through zero-tolerance policies on violence.
Unmet climate-finance promises
Commenting on UN findings that climate-finance commitments remain unrealised and are often substituted with loans, the Cardinal referred to the Church’s consistent appeal for debt cancellation.
“I fully agree with the call of Pope Francis and Pope Leo to cancel the debt,” he said. “The North has grown rich by exploiting the South. It is time they repay by cancelling the debt.”
Asia’s escalating climate threats
Asked about the situation in Asia, Cardinal Ferrão described a region experiencing the effects of climate change with exceptional severity.
“Asia is warming at twice the global average,” he said. “Heatwaves, typhoons, droughts, floods, cyclones, sea-level rise, and melting glaciers are becoming more intense and frequent.”
He noted that these events worsen existing socio-economic vulnerabilities, particularly among marginalised populations.
Encouragement from Pope Leo
Cardinal Ferrão also welcomed Pope Leo’s recent video message addressed to Global South cardinals and bishops participating in COP30.
“We were encouraged by the Pope’s words,” he said. “He reminded us that creation is crying out through floods, droughts, storms, and heat, and that one in three people lives in great vulnerability.”
Cardinal Ferrão said the message strengthens the call for urgent, collective action.
