Category Archives: Ecology & Sustainability


In the Treaties the European Union professes the principles of sustainability, the protection of the environment and the fight against the causes and effects of climate change. Regularly these ambitions are in conflict with other aims of the EU like economic growth, agriculture and industrial policy.
Since 2008 COMECE has been engaged with the topic of climate change and regularly stressed the necessity of an ecological conversion and a different and more sober style of life. In his encyclical «Laudato si» Pope Francis has flagged up this idea with his concept of an «integrate ecology» that underscores the link between the protection of the environment and climate, the fight against poverty, social justice, economy and politics.
Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press

News

Video recordings of the 5th European Laudato Si’ Reflection Day now available!

The video recordings of the 5th Laudato Si’ Reflection Day are now available! The event was held on 17 May 2022 by the European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) to reflect on environmental activism in Europe. On May 17th 2022, ELSiA has organised the 5th edition of the European Laudato Si’ Reflection Day, an event dedicated to selected themes from Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’. During … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press

Invitation

5th European Laudato Si’ Reflection Day to be held on 17 May 2022

The European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) is pleased to invite you to the 5th Laudato Si’ Reflection Day to be held online on Tuesday 17 May 2022 from 9:30 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:00. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Two Generations, One Journey”. Register here The event will be an occasion to have an intergenerational dialogue around environmental movements of yesterday … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Ethics, Research & Health, Policy Areas, Press, Social & Economic Affairs

Press Release

European Catholic Social Days on technological & ecological transitions

The second day of the European Catholic Social Days, Saturday 19 March 2022, was devoted to the theme of digital and ecological transition processes. “Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in “lifestyles, models of production and consumption”. H.E. Mgr. Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, delivered the first keynote speech of the day, addressing participants on new … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press, Social & Economic Affairs, Youth policies

News

Green Deal: Final Report of the Interfaith Youth Convention is now online

The final report of the Interfaith Youth Convention on the European Green Deal is now available online. The document sets out the 21 proposals that young people of different religious traditions have put forward and developed with the hope of seeing them reflected in the European Green Deal. Download the Report In October and November 2021, over 100 young Europeans, aged 18 to 35, delegated … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press

News

COMECE welcomes the CAP reform and encourages the EU to make it part of a broader ecological transition

On Tuesday 23 November 2021, the European Parliament adopted a new legislative framework on the financing, management and monitoring of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). COMECE: “The reform should be in line with the requirements of the European Green Deal and embedded in a fundamental transformation of the entire food chain”. The European parliament took a major step forward on the Common Agricultural Policy, clearing … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press

NEWS

ELSiA eco-spirituality workshop in Taizé

From 12 – 14 November, ELSiA met in Taizé, France for a workshop focused on eco-spirituality. ELSiA, composed of 6 Catholic institutions and organisations, is committed to promoting ecological justice and awareness at national and EU policy level. The workshop in Taizé offered an opportunity for the ELSiA organisations to reflect on and discuss the interconnection of ecology and spirituality and the importance of integrating … Continue reading »

Ecology & Sustainability, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

The Catholic Church to the EU ahead of COP26: “Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is a profound moral imperative”

In a letter addressed to all leaders of the European institutions participating in the upcoming COP26, the President of COMECE, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, urges the European Union to play a leading role at the international level for a bold response to tackle the climate emergency: “finding a pathway likely to respect the 1.5°C threshold for global warming is a profound moral imperative”. In the context … Continue reading »