Letter
Letter to Congress on UNFCCC, November 10, 2017
Letter from Bishop Oscar Cantu, Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace and Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Peace, to Congress on UNFCCC, November 10, 2017
Earlier this year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) affirmed “that the federal budget is a moral document with profound implications for the common good of our nation and world.” The belief that the environment is a God-given gift for the good of all has been present from the very beginnings of our nation. As you work through the end of the year appropriations process, we urge you to dedicate $10 million to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Americans are greatly blessed with bountiful natural resources, gifts from God that we are called to steward. Yet the blessings of God’s creation and the duty to care for the common good overflow beyond our borders, especially when it comes to the air and climate shared with all peoples and creatures living on the planet. As Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si’, “The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.”
Among the many programs supported by the UNFCCC is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This scientific body incorporates a wide range of views and expertise from thousands of scientists worldwide, providing decision-makers with rigorous and balanced scientific information on climate change. Since climate science can be misused in public discourse to further different economic, social, political and ideological agendas, it is in the national interest to support credible scientific research. Restricting funding to the UNFCCC will only weaken the ability of the United States to dialogue in the international arena using a common language based on the best science available. Catholic teaching affirms the importance of placing science at the service of the human person.