This week, the Vatican has gathered over 400 climate leaders, scientists, and religious representatives for the conference Raising Hope for Climate Justice in Castel Gandolfo in Vatican City, to mark the ten-year anniversary of the former pope's encyclical on the environment and climate – called Laudato Si'.
Pope Leo XIV opened the meeting with a speech urging a shift from words and data collection to concrete action, and he sharply criticised those who ridicule the climate issue.
One of the invited guests present was climate figure Ingmar Rentxhog, founder of the climate communications company We Don't Have Time.
"It was a unique setting, not your usual climate conference. What stood out wasn't just that the Pope himself participated and that we were at his summer residence – but that the Vatican, unlike many others, tries to connect both the brain and the heart," he tells Impact Loop from Rome's airport when asked to summarise the experience.
By heart, he means that they talked about the climate from a moral perspective, rather than an economic one. According to Ingmar Rentzhog, it's important that it's the Pope who takes this kind of initiative.
"The disruptive thing about this is that the Vatican – one of the world's most conservative institutions – is now taking a stand for the climate. Priests and leaders from different backgrounds and religions participated, many from conservative circles. That's important, because it's exactly what we need, for the climate issue not to be raised only from the left," he says.
At the same time, there are other powerful forces denying that climate is important?
"Yes, it becomes a very clear contrast when Donald Trump calls the climate issue the world's biggest hoax, and just a week later the new pope stands there and says: we must listen to the science. It couldn't be clearer," says Ingmar Rentzhog.
The previous Pope, Francis, had a clear climate agenda and was sometimes labelled as leftist or 'woke'. How do you perceive Pope Leo?
"I think he seems to have a strategy to avoid polarisation. Sure, some call him 'The Woke Pope' but I think he balances it very skilfully."
Did you speak to him?
"No, I didn't have a private audience."
Ingmar Rentzhog was present to highlight the 'Make Science Great Again' initiative, which aims to raise one million euros to support scientific climate communication. In an interview with Impact Loop earlier this year, he described the situation as tough for We don’t have time. Now he says things are looking up.
"The situation looks better than before the summer, but the market is still sluggish. We've brought in some money but need more, so that's something we're working on," says Ingmar Rentzhog.