The of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has given a warning to around 50 of the world's top oil company executives about the to humanity from fossil fuels. At a , closed-door meeting in the Vatican on Saturday, the pontiff urged the oil companies to switch to energies for the of our planet. He told the executives that fossil fuels were a driver in climate change and that global warming represented a of "epochal proportions". He said the companies needed to act , saying: "There is no time to lose." He warned that: "With each month that passes, the challenge of energy becomes more pressing."
Pope Francis explained how it was for the world to transition to greener of energy. He said: "The energy question has become one of the challenges...facing the international . The way we meet this challenge will determine our quality of life." Francis said fossil fuels are a contributor to , war and death around the world as they affect, "the possibility either of resolving conflicts in different areas of our world or of...providing them with fuel to destroy social stability and human lives." He added: "Civilization requires energy, but energy must not destroy civilization....Clean energy is a that we owe towards ...generations yet to come.
