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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/30/ex-climate-negotiator-peoples-pilgrimage-pope-francis-yeb-sano-walk-rome-paris
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| Ex-climate negotiator hopes for 'miracle' on people's pilgrimage | Ex-climate negotiator hopes for 'miracle' on people's pilgrimage |
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| A former international climate negotiator-turned-environmentalist is walking from Rome to Paris, hoping for a “miracle” that will push world leaders to strike a new deal on global warming. | A former international climate negotiator-turned-environmentalist is walking from Rome to Paris, hoping for a “miracle” that will push world leaders to strike a new deal on global warming. |
| Wearing a pilgrimage T-shirt and a wooden cross hanging from his neck, Yeb Sano could be just another Catholic visitor to St Peter’s Square. But his canvas shoes point to another, more pressing purpose than a quick jaunt to the Vatican museums. “These are the shoes I’m going in on sunny days. When the rains come I have my hiking boots,” he said of his well-worn and very sensible footwear. Fresh from a meeting with Pope Francis, Sano appeared energetic and ready to embark on a 930 miles (1,500 km) journey to Paris. | Wearing a pilgrimage T-shirt and a wooden cross hanging from his neck, Yeb Sano could be just another Catholic visitor to St Peter’s Square. But his canvas shoes point to another, more pressing purpose than a quick jaunt to the Vatican museums. “These are the shoes I’m going in on sunny days. When the rains come I have my hiking boots,” he said of his well-worn and very sensible footwear. Fresh from a meeting with Pope Francis, Sano appeared energetic and ready to embark on a 930 miles (1,500 km) journey to Paris. |
| The People’s Pilgrimage aim’s to draw attention to climate change. Sano has timed this particular pilgrimage to arrive in Paris at the end of November, just before world leaders meet in the French capital to forge a new deal on climate action. As a Filipino, Sano has experience of the violent impact of environmental changes. His father’s hometown of Tacloban was devastated by typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines when it struck in 2013. At the time Sano was his country’s top climate change negotiator, receiving a standing ovation when he broke down in tears while speaking at UN talks in Warsaw. Now an environmentalist operating outside of government constraints, he said he felt more free to act: “I feel I am part of a larger fight. In a sense I am more at liberty to actually say what needs to be said.” | |
| Sano will be joined on the climate pilgrimage by about a dozen others from the Philippines, Hong Kong, the UK and the US. Over the 57 days it will take them to reach Paris – passing through Italy, Switzerland and Germany before arriving in France – they will also be met by local environmental groups. | Sano will be joined on the climate pilgrimage by about a dozen others from the Philippines, Hong Kong, the UK and the US. Over the 57 days it will take them to reach Paris – passing through Italy, Switzerland and Germany before arriving in France – they will also be met by local environmental groups. |
| One such group taking part in Rome is Legambiente, an Italian organisation whose focus covers everything from climate change to toxic waste dumping in the bel paese. Wearing Legambiente’s signature yellow, member Maria Maranò said the impacts of climate change were already evident in Rome. | One such group taking part in Rome is Legambiente, an Italian organisation whose focus covers everything from climate change to toxic waste dumping in the bel paese. Wearing Legambiente’s signature yellow, member Maria Maranò said the impacts of climate change were already evident in Rome. |
| “People are saying they’ve never seen it rain like this. The climate is becoming tropical, it’s creating a lot of problems,” she said of a city whose streets are often flooded by heavy rain as storms sweep in. | “People are saying they’ve never seen it rain like this. The climate is becoming tropical, it’s creating a lot of problems,” she said of a city whose streets are often flooded by heavy rain as storms sweep in. |
| With Italians increasingly aware of refugees and migrants arriving on their country’s shores – more than 131,000 so far this year – Maranò said some arrivals should be classed as “climate refugees”, said Maranò. “There aren’t only people escaping from war; there are people escaping from hunger because they don’t have the possibility of [finding] food, or because of floods or desertification.” | With Italians increasingly aware of refugees and migrants arriving on their country’s shores – more than 131,000 so far this year – Maranò said some arrivals should be classed as “climate refugees”, said Maranò. “There aren’t only people escaping from war; there are people escaping from hunger because they don’t have the possibility of [finding] food, or because of floods or desertification.” |
| Scientists have warned of disastrous consequences if politicians fail to stop temperatures rising at the current rate, but previous rounds of climate negotiations have left campaigners bitterly disappointed. This year, however, activists have a new weapon in Pope Francis, who in June published a papal letter on the environment. Not holding back in a speech to the UN general assembly last week, he warned leaders against a “selfish and boundless thirst for power” which led to the misuse of natural resources. While the pope’s message has helped galvanize public opinion globally, at home there is a push for the Vatican to practice what the pontiff’s preaching and divest from fossil fuels. | Scientists have warned of disastrous consequences if politicians fail to stop temperatures rising at the current rate, but previous rounds of climate negotiations have left campaigners bitterly disappointed. This year, however, activists have a new weapon in Pope Francis, who in June published a papal letter on the environment. Not holding back in a speech to the UN general assembly last week, he warned leaders against a “selfish and boundless thirst for power” which led to the misuse of natural resources. While the pope’s message has helped galvanize public opinion globally, at home there is a push for the Vatican to practice what the pontiff’s preaching and divest from fossil fuels. |
| Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, told the Guardian that the Holy See intends to gradually divest, although would not give further information. Sano said all churches should do so, “because it’s very clear that fossil fuels cannot be part of a better future for this world”. Despite the Vatican’s investment portfolio, Sano described Argentinian pope as “our biggest source of inspiration”. The Filipino will write the papal letter out by hand during the pilgrimage. He also credited Francis with having better understanding of the broader picture than many climate activists, as the pope has pointed to damage wrought by the global economic system. | Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, told the Guardian that the Holy See intends to gradually divest, although would not give further information. Sano said all churches should do so, “because it’s very clear that fossil fuels cannot be part of a better future for this world”. Despite the Vatican’s investment portfolio, Sano described Argentinian pope as “our biggest source of inspiration”. The Filipino will write the papal letter out by hand during the pilgrimage. He also credited Francis with having better understanding of the broader picture than many climate activists, as the pope has pointed to damage wrought by the global economic system. |
| “The impact of climate change is not just a function of the strength of hazards like typhoons, but it’s a function of people’s development,” Sano said. “If people are still subject to unfair global economic structures, then people will remain vulnerable and climate change will exacerbate all of that.” Although Sano is sceptical of world leaders’ ability to finalise an ambitious and fair agreement in Paris, a flicker of hope remained as he embarked on his long journey. “Being a person of faith, I still believe in miracles and that is what we hold onto. Maybe a miracle in Paris is still possible,” he said. | “The impact of climate change is not just a function of the strength of hazards like typhoons, but it’s a function of people’s development,” Sano said. “If people are still subject to unfair global economic structures, then people will remain vulnerable and climate change will exacerbate all of that.” Although Sano is sceptical of world leaders’ ability to finalise an ambitious and fair agreement in Paris, a flicker of hope remained as he embarked on his long journey. “Being a person of faith, I still believe in miracles and that is what we hold onto. Maybe a miracle in Paris is still possible,” he said. |