Pope Francis to Attend COP28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December

The summit, held in a different country every year, is an opportunity for world leaders, representing state and nonstate actors, to meet and discuss policy goals that seek to establish common — and often ambitious — goals for climate change mitigation.

It will be Pope Francis’ second time traveling to the Middle Eastern country. In February 2019, he visited the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, to promote interreligious dialogue and support the small Christian minority.

During the Feb. 3–5, 2019, trip, he signed the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” with the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb.

Francis was the first pope to ever visit the Arabian peninsula.

Climate issues and the environment have been a priority of Pope Francis’ pontificate.

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On Oct. 4, he released his second major document on the topic, the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (“Praise God”), in which he warned of “grave consequences” if humanity continues to ignore the threat of climate change.

In the Nov. 1 interview with RAI, Pope Francis recalled how he had decided to write his first document on the topic, the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, ahead of the COP21 summit in Paris.

“The Paris meeting was the best meeting of all,” he said, because “after Paris everyone went backwards and it takes courage to move forward in this.”

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.