Pope Francis sends an urgent call for doing the right thing for the now (the rich owe the poor big time) and for future generations, by respecting the Earth. Papal Encylicals don't seem to happen very often. Laudato si' - On care for our common home (24 May 2015) is preceded by Lumen Fidei - On faith (29 June 2013).

We assume that most readers know what should be done for socio-environmental sustainability in production and are knowledgeable about the basic issues of the ecological crisis , so we focus more on what the Pope has to say about what is going right or wrong in the sustainability movement (with a focus on consumerist lifestyle problems, which have not been well enunciated in sustainability thus far).

We are in a "cultural and ecological crisis." How do we progress from here? He calls for an "integral ecology" and reminds us to focus on what is authentic in a world blinded by artifice and controlled by a powerful minority. It is indeed a lengthy reflection on sustainability, but a refreshing read on a subject area now fraught with commercial contestations. 

There are few sector specifics, but he is in favour of renewable energy and a more diversified agricultural system.

While there seems to be a lot of effort thrown into commodity-chain sustainability, it's not easy to see aggregate impact (even in palm oil sustainability which is one of the most advanced in market progression, reaching age 12 and with 20% production market share).

What does Pope Francis observe about what is stopping real progress on sustainability? It seems it's also a lot to do with economic hegemonic powers and wrong-headed sustainability policies so far apparently increasing the power of the rich at the expense of the poor - "integrate questions of justice in debates of the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." He broadly argues that the failure of environmental efforts so far lies in its capture by transnational corporations pushing the unsustainable and self-destructive consumerist paradigm. Moreover, the Pope warns that "further injustice (against the poor) is perpetrated under the guise of protecting the environment."

Interestingly, he also argues (many times) for national sovereignty (without "capitulating to spurious local or international interests") against huge global economic interests ("under the guise of protecting (tropical forests)... (that) serve the economic interests of transnational corporations).

Bottom-line: Environmental problems are a symptom of moral and cultural corruption and degradation -  clean up the transnational capitalist consumerist system, stop deifying "the market" and the utilitarian mindset. For true sustainability, start cutting consumption. Quite a contrast to the current (soft) sustainability paradigm that focus almost wholly on cleaning up commodity production in (mostly developing) producer countries via competing eco-labels and approaches on / for consumer products.

Note: Pope Francis' concerns are rather resonant of Sklair's research - The Transnational Capitalist Class and the Discourse of Globalization By Leslie Sklair Cambridge Review of International Affairs 2000; The Corporate Capture of Sustainable Development......Thus, the negative environmentalism that had forced industries to respond to specific challenges on pollution and toxic hazards gave way to more general conceptions of ˜sustainable growth' and ˜sustainable development', entirely compatible concepts in the corporate analysis. Corporate environmentalism, therefore, both as a social movement and as a discourse, co-existed easily with this moderate conception of sustainability. From this powerful conceptual base big business successfully recruited much of the global environmental movement in the 1990s to the cause of sustainable global consumerist capitalism. This achievement is an object lesson in how dominant classes incorporate potential enemies into what Gramsci called new historical blocs....  /khorreports-palmoil/2015/05/the-corporate-capture-of-sustainable.html . Revisiting Brundtland Report 1987, /khorreports-palmoil/2014/04/revisiting-brundtland-report-1987.html  - also reminds us that the problems of asymmetric bargaining power and power blocs was an existing concern.

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Download a full English text here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

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1 July 2015: Vatican officials to discuss climate change and environment with scientists and activists

Pope Francis’s environmental message brings thousands on to streets in Rome - Vatican officials to discuss climate change and environment with scientists and activists including Naomi Klein; In the encyclical, Francis directed sharp criticism at global leaders for their failure to combat climate change. It was greeted with a hugely positive response from environmentalists, who have seized on the pope’s message ahead of a United Nations climate change conference to be held in Paris in December. The UN summit is aimed at reaching a global deal on climate change, but as the pontiff noted, previous meetings have ended in disappointment, with decision-making paralysed by disagreements. Alongside Klein and Turkson, the conservation group WWF has been invited to this week’s Vatican conference and had a strong presence at the rally on Sunday, described as a “historic event” by Samantha Smith, leader of the organisation’s global climate and energy initiative.
.........While a few hundred people began the multifaith march, holding banners and sheltering from the sun under giant paper leaves, organisers said about 5,000 were present at the end of the march in St Peter’s Square. There, Francis exhorted a multifaith effort to help protect the environment. “I encourage the collaboration between persons and associations of different religions on behalf of an integral ecology,” he said.... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/28/pope-francis-environment-rome-naomi-klein-climate-change
 

23 June 2015: In looking at the forces for and against what the Pope talks about (cannot imagine many in dominant main stream business-economics, media and sustainability would be for it!), two recent articles in The Economist are of related interest with Barack Obama for TPP versus Elizabeth Warren,  Nancy Pelosi (her idea on international body on regulating globalization rather similar to Pope Francis - which The Economist not surprisingly dislikes ) etc.; and also the notable shift of wealth to Asia which has large consumer base and became a key part of the global manufacturing supply chain.

The TPP trade deal is highly emblematic of transnational corporate deal making for a more stream-lined global supply-chain. Globalisation with a greater loss of national policy sovereignty:
 

The Trans-Pacific Partnership - TPP, RIP? A row over the Pacific trade deal is harming America’s economic and political interests  Jun 20th 2015  | From the print edition; The Democrat who occupies the White House today makes the same case in defence of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-country trade pact. Barack Obama may yet prevail over the opposition of his own party as he seeks “fast-track” trade-promotion authority (TPA, confusingly)—the right to negotiate TPP and other trade agreements which Congress could then approve or reject, but not amend. However, the fight over TPP has already dented America’s leadership credentials, to say nothing of Hillary Clinton’s (see article).... On June 12th Democrats in the House of Representatives, egged on by trade-union bosses, led a revolt that, temporarily at least, has derailed Mr Obama’s chances of winning fast-track authority. Its opponents call the TPP deal a dangerous sequel to earlier trade accords, which they blame for sending factories from the American heartland to low-cost countries far away. (Never mind that, in a tactic to thwart Mr Obama, they voted against a training scheme for workers whose jobs are lost to foreign competition.) Tribunes of the populist left, such as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have used the fight against TPP to revisit long-standing grievances about the power of Wall Street banks and big business. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, has called for wholly new ways to regulate globalisation, perhaps under the auspices of the UN.... Such attacks are off-target. The threat to America from low-wage manufacturing hubs is exaggerated: killing TPP would not bring factory chimneys and steel mills back to blighted Rust Belt towns. New markets among the 12 TPP countries are worth having: between them these Pacific Rim nations account for 40% of global economic output. And the thrust of TPP is to open up sectors such as services, where America enjoys a comparative advantage. As for Ms Pelosi’s ideas, they are pure grandstanding. There is no conceivable congressional majority for handing trade powers to an international body... http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21654612-row-over-pacific-trade-deal-harming-americas-economic-and-political-interests-tpp-rip?fsrc=nlw|newe|22-06-2015|

NPR: Sen. Warren on the 'tilted process' of Asia trade bill; In an interview on NPR's Morning Edition today, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren explained her concerns about the trade deal debate in Congress. "I have three objections," Senator Warren said in the interview. "The first is that the president is asking us to vote to grease the skids on a trade deal that has largely been negotiated, but that is still held in secret. The second is that we know that corporations under this deal are going to get to sue countries for regulations they don't like and that the decisions are not going to be made by courts, they're going to be made by private lawyers. And the third problem is that he wants us to vote on a six-year, grease-the-skids deal.".... http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=news&id=817

Democrats rebuff Obama on trade plans - Resounding loss in House fueled by fears for workers; By Tracy Jan Globe Staff  June 12, 2015; WASHINGTON — House Democrats, including the entire Massachusetts delegation, sidelined President Obama’s trade agenda Friday, a stark repudiation of the president just hours after he made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to plead for support. The vote reflected deep fears among Democrats about the economic impact of foreign trade deals on middle-class workers and demonstrated the potency of labor unions who lobbied aggressively against the legislation. The bill would lay the groundwork for a sweeping trade pact among Pacific Rim nations. The resounding defeat of Obama’s top domestic legislative priority also signals a weakened presidency as Obama’s second term begins to wind down. For weeks, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, cheered on by liberals in Congress and across the country, has led a concerted public effort to defeat the “fast track” trade deal authorization....Even  inority leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who flanked the president on his way in to meet with House Democrats, spoke against the series of bills shortly before casting her “no” vote. She had previously withheld her judgment..... https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/06/12/obama-makes-personal-appeal-trade-with-key-vote-house/3ZESBGSmJAIfuYzvtAHZEP/story.html
Private wealth  Jun 20th 2015  | From the print edition; Private wealth in Asia overtook that in western Europe in 2014, and is set to overtake North America by 2016, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The strong performance of equity and bond markets contributed to a $17.5 trillion increase in private wealth worldwide last year, to a total of $164 trillion. Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) provided over 60% of the increase. Across the region, private wealth grew by 29% in 2014 to reach $47.3 trillion; in North America and Europe it grew by 5.6% and 6.6% respectively. China will account for 70% of Asia’s wealth accumulation between now and 2019, BCG reckons. By 2021 it will overtake America as the world’s wealthiest nation.http://www.economist.com/news/economic-and-financial-indicators/21654571-private-wealth

 

Other reactions:
 

• Also, I remembered this from a few months ago...... Catholics don't have to breed 'like rabbits', says Pope Francis www.theguardian.com › World › Pope Francis The Guardian Jan 20, 2015 - Pope Francis during his wide-ranging press conference with journalists on the plane back to Rome from the Philippines on Monday 19 January ... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/20/catholics-dont-have-to-breed-like-rabbits-says-pope-francis

Where Pope Francis Goes Horribly Wrong With His Economics 6/20/2015 @ 5:45AM 13,555 views; Much of what Pope Francis says in his latest encyclical, Laudato Si, is entirely in line with standard Catholic socio-economic teaching. Sadly, that’s so much the worse for standard Catholic socio-economic teaching, as at the heart of it there’s a couple of assumptions that are simply entirely untrue. And given that these mistakes are at the heart of the argument they do work to rather disprove the rest of the teaching. The basic ideas, that the environment is important, that climate change is a real thing that we should so something about, those are fine of course. It’s not my childhood Catholicism that leads me to support a carbon tax (as an example) but the output of all of the economic research that has been done into the subject. However, the two mistakes are here....http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/06/20/where-pope-francis-goes-horribly-wrong-with-his-economics/
How climate-change doubters lost a papal fight; VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis was about to take a major step backing the science behind ­human-driven global warming, and Philippe de Larminat was determined to change his mind. A French doubter who authored a book arguing that solar activity — not greenhouse gases — was driving global warming, de Larminat sought a spot at a climate summit in April sponsored by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Nobel laureates would be there. So would U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs and others calling for dramatic steps to curb carbon emissions. After securing a high-level meeting at the Vatican, he was told that, space permitting, he could join. He bought a plane ticket from Paris to Rome. But five days before the April 28 summit, de Larminat said, he received an e-mail saying there was no space left. It came after other scientists — as well as the powerful Vatican bureaucrat in charge of the academy — insisted he had no business being there. “They did not want to hear an off note,” de Larminat said.The incident highlights how climate-change doubters tried and failed to alter the landmark papal document unveiled last week — one that saw the leader of 1 billion Catholics fuse faith and reason and come to the conclusion that “denial” is wrong....“This was their Waterloo,” said Kert Davies, executive director of the Climate Investigations Center, who has been tracking ­climate-change deniers for years. “They wanted the encyclical not to happen. And it happened.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/how-climate-change-doubters-lost-a-papal-fight/2015/06/20/86af3182-15ce-11e5-8457-4b431bf7ed4c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_wemost&wpmm=1

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Here is a simple log of readings of Papal Encylical Letter on the environment from the perspective of commodity production sustainability programs (with a few reference notes on palm oil).


20 June 2015:  So what can palm oil readers glean from the new debate on sustainability raised by Pope Francis? Part 1 - 54. Parts 34-39 on issues in palm sustainability, part 49 on green rhetoric and social exclusion, no talk of cutting consumption in key markets, market might rules. A warning on superficial / false sustainability policy which does not challenge the models of production and consumption.

21 June 2015, morning: Don't let the environment be a guise to penalize developing countries / the poor. Don't rely on ploys like carbon credits which permits ongoing excessive consumption. Transnational economic and financial sectors block radical decisions on global warming and poverty eradication. The need for strong international institutions. Sustainable growth and business sustainability is "reduced to a series of marketing and image-enhancing measures" in order to distract attention from real changes.

On who should bear the cost of sustainability? The rich should bear the cost of environmental cost, not the poor. Don't let the environment be a guise to penalize developing countries / the poor. Don't rely on ploys like carbon credits which permits ongoing excessive consumption. Part 170: "Some strategies for lowering pollutant gas emissions call for the internationalization of environmental costs, which would risk imposing on countries with fewer resources burdensome commitments to reducing emissions comparable to those of the more industrialized countries. Imposing such measures penalizes those countries most in need of development. A further injustices is perpetrated under the guise of protecting the environment. And in Part 171: " carbon credits can lead to a new form of speculation which would not help reduce the emission of polluting gases worldwide... it may simply become a ploy which permits maintaining the excessive consumption of some countries and sectors."

Note: This has been a major bone of contention between the developing and the developed worlds, with the latter broadly saying that the former need not repeat their mistakes, and must make (and pay for as market access compliance cost) the necessary sustainability policies largely fashioned by policy makers from key developed markets. In palm sustainability, the frustration at the asymmetry in policy-making power is palpable, but has not attracted great resourcing as there is intense contestation among the stakeholders within the developing markets, ranging from big buyers, Asian transnational corporations to politicians asking what alternative economic development is there for local peoples residing in peat zones if  oil palm development there faces voluntary sustainability program (and hence international market) censure. While plantation companies talk about HCS regimes creating an orderly set of rules for developing palm oil, this still does not answer questions from those in areas which will be deemed "no go / no market access" by large companies in the supply-chain. In this regard, Part 49 is an essential read on the question of justice, as Pope Francis says: "a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates of the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." 

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• blames the ‘ecological crisis’ on the indifference of the powerful  Pope Francis has called on the world’s rich nations to begin paying their “grave social debt” to the poor and take concrete steps on climate change. He attacks over consumption, and the rich who feel they are "more human.. born with greater rights" while caring little for those in poverty
• calls for substituting fossil fuels with clean and renewable energy (but acknowledges gas as a better interim energy source versus the likes of coal)
• laments the lack of political will - politicians are unwilling to upset consumerism and fearful of upsetting foreign investors
• questions the boom-bust economic cycles with bank bailouts and financing over production - "Production is not always rational, and is usually tied to economic variables which assign to products a value that does not necessarily correspond to their real worth. This frequently leads to an overproduction of some commodities, with unnecessary impact on the environment and with negative results on regional economies. The financial bubble also tends to be a productive bubble..."
• points to the negatives of commodity production impacts as "underground water sources in many places are threatened by the pollution produced in certain mining, farming and industrial activities, especially in countries lacking adequate regulation or controls. It is not only a question of industrial waste. Detergents and chemical products, commonly used in many places of the world, continue to pour into our rivers, lakes and seas.... The export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialized north has caused harm locally... it is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principal dialogue partners, especially when large projects affecting their land are proposed. For them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values. When they remain on their land, they themselves care for it best. Nevertheless, in various parts of the world, pressure is being put on them to abandon their homelands to make room for agricultural or mining projects which are undertaken without regard for the degradation of nature and culture"
• takes on big business, appearing to back "what consumer movements accomplish by boycotting certain products" in order to force companies to respect the environment.
• but he rejects "market approach" to environmental issues e.g. carbon credits may lead to speculation and allows excess consumption in some countries and some sectors: "we need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals"
• laments that "human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful..."
• argues that "Agriculture in poorer regions can be improved through investment in rural infrastructures, a better organization of local or national markets, systems of irrigation, and the development of techniques of sustainable agriculture. New forms of cooperation and community organization can be encouraged in order to defend the interests of small producers and preserve local ecosystems from destruction.."
• he is wary of risks of genetic modification
• ... more to come.....

News coverage includes:

Excerpts from Pope Francis encyclical on the environment  Updated: Thursday June 18, 2015 MYT 6:45:05 PM  (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

ON CONSUMPTION, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WEALTH DISPARITY

ON FOSSIL FUELS

ON POLITICAL MYOPIA AND BUREAUCRATIC INERTIA

ON MARKET FORCES AND CARBON CREDITS

ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BANKS, ENVIRONMENT AND PRODUCTION

THE EFFECT OF MINING ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL PEOPLE
Pope Francis: 'Revolution' needed to combat climate change By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor Updated 0107 GMT (0807 HKT) June 19, 2015 | Video Source: CNN (CNN)—As a former teacher, Pope Francis knows how to deliver a stern lecture. On Thursday, he gave one for the ages.


Release of encyclical reveals pope’s deep dive into climate science  By Anthony Faiola, Michelle Boorstein and Chris Mooney June 18 at 3:10 PM      VATICAN CITY — He warns of “synthetic agrotoxins” harming birds and insects and “bioaccumulation” from industrial waste. He calls for renewable fuel subsidies and “maximum energy efficiency.” And although he offers prayers at the beginning and end of his heavily anticipated missive on the environment, Pope Francis unmasks himself not only as a very green pontiff, but also as a total policy wonk. In the 192-page paper released Thursday, Francis lays out the argument for a new partnership between science and religion to combat human-driven climate change — a position bringing him immediately into conflict with skeptics, whom he chides for their “denial.” Francis urges taking public transit, carpooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, recycling — and boycotting certain products. He called for an “ecological conversion” for the faithful. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-pope-franciss-not-yet-official-document-on-climate-change-is-already-stirring-controversy/2015/06/17/ef4d46be-14fe-11e5-9518-f9e0a8959f32_story.html
USA: Pope demands 'action now' to save planet from environmental ruin VATICAN CITY  |  By Philip Pullella  Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:03pm EDT   Pope Francis demanded swift action on Thursday to save the planet from environmental ruin, urging world leaders to hear "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" and plunging the Catholic Church into political controversy over climate change. In the first papal document dedicated to the environment, he called for "decisive action, here and now," to stop environmental degradation and global warming, squarely backing scientists who say it is mostly man-made. In the encyclical "Laudato Si (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common Home", Francis, the first pope from a developing nation, advocated a change of lifestyle in rich countries steeped in a "throwaway" consumer culture and an end to an "obstructionist attitudes" that sometimes put profit before the common good. He also took on big business, appearing to back "what consumer movements accomplish by boycotting certain products" in order to force companies to respect the environment..... The most controversial papal pronouncement in half a century.... won broad praise from scientists, the United Nations and climate change activists, as well as U.S. President Barack Obama, who lauded the pope for making the case "clearly, powerfully, and with the full moral authority of his position." The pope also raised the wrath of conservatives, including several U.S. Republican presidential candidates and leading lawmakers, who have scolded him for delving into science and politics..... http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/18/us-pope-environment-idUSKBN0OX1LW20150618

Australia: Papal environment encyclical a win for the Greens, challenge for Abbott Date June 19, 2015 - 5:32PM  34 reading now by Matthew Knott Politicians from across the political spectrum and Catholic Church leaders have welcomed Pope Francis' major encyclical on the environment, saying they expect it to have a significant impact on the local and international climate change debate, with the potential to change voting intentions. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, who is also president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, described the encyclical as a "clarion call" to all global leaders, including Australia's, to take stronger leadership on climate change. "I would hope our leaders, including Mr Abbott, would carefully consider the message of the encyclical," Archbishop Hart said.........Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he thinks "everyone will give it great weight", including Prime Minister Tony Abbott. "I think this is a very, very significant move by the Pope, to make the church and the leadership of the church much more relevant to young people," Mr Turnbull said on Friday. In his encyclical, released on Thursday night Australian time, Pope Francis bemoans "weak international political responses" to environmental issues.