Pope, Schwarzenegger to Rally Catholics to ‘Terminate’ Climate Change

Pope Leo XIV will join environmental experts and campaigners from around the globe at a climate conference near Rome on Wednesday, which will feature “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The three-day event marks the 10th anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto, “Laudato Si”, a clarion call for decisive action on human-induced global warming.

US-born Pope Leo, elected in May following Francis’s death, has embraced his predecessor’s message, insisting that it is now time to replace words with “decisive and coordinated climate action.”

Time is of the essence. Global emissions driving climate change have continued to rise, yet must be almost halved by 2030 to limit warming to the safer levels agreed under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The upcoming UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil this November will focus on strategies to achieve these critical targets.

In preparation, the “Raising Hope for Climate Justice” conference, held in Castel Gandolfo — the pope’s summer residence — will examine progress so far and outline “urgent steps” needed, organisers said.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California governor and environmental advocate, told a press conference at the Vatican on Tuesday that it was “very important” for the Catholic Church to support the global fight against climate change.

“There is not one single person who can ‘terminate’ pollution alone,” he quipped.

He added: “We have to work together. You have 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, 200,000 churches, and approximately 400,000 priests. Imagine the power of communication. Every single one of those 1.4 billion Catholics can be a crusader for the environment.”

Schwarzenegger will speak on Wednesday alongside Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva and Pope Leo, who has declared environmental protection “a matter of justice: social, economic and human.”

“In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change… care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity,” the Pope wrote in September.

Before his election as head of the Catholic Church, Robert Francis Prevost spent roughly 20 years as a missionary in Peru, assisting communities affected by climate-induced disasters, including severe flooding.

Schwarzenegger said the conference, which brings together bishops, climate and biodiversity experts, Indigenous leaders, and civil society representatives, is a chance to harness “people power.”

Lorna Gold, head of the Laudato Si’ Movement, organisers of the conference, said participants would make a new pledge in memory of Pope Francis to fulfil the vision of his call for climate action. This pledge will be delivered to COP30.

“We know our leaders are not making adequate progress… [and] are not prepared to wait,” she told journalists.
“The aim of this conference is to see how we as non-state actors can step up.”

Experts credit Pope Francis with influencing the 2015 Paris climate accords through his Laudato Si’ encyclical, which held developed economies largely responsible for the looming environmental crisis.

Nearly a decade later, in 2023, Francis warned that some environmental damage was already irreversible, underscoring the urgency of continued action.