News Archives » EPA
EPA Administrator to Meet Vatican Officials on Climate Change January 29th, 2015
The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to meet with senior officials at the Vatican on Friday on the issue of climate change. In an interview with National Catholic Reporter before her trip, Administrator McCarthy, a Roman Catholic from Massachusetts, described the Vatican stop as “the most important” on a five-day trip to Europe. The EPA, under the Obama Administration, has reached out to faith communities of all denominations, recognizing both that most have long teaching traditions on creation care, and that they have the ability to reach people in a meaningful way on the need to take action on climate change.
The moral aspect of climate change – the fact that the most vulnerable to the effects are also those who have done the least to create the problem, is recognized by the Administration. “Clearly, climate change is an issue that is impactful in terms of how we’re not just going to protect the most vulnerable but also take responsibility for protecting God’s natural resources,” McCarthy said.
“I think that the president and myself agree that climate change is indeed a moral issue,” she said. “It is about protecting those most vulnerable, and EPA’s job, as focusing on public health and environmental protection, always tasked ourselves to look at those most vulnerable and to ensure that when we’re taking action we’re addressing their needs most effectively.”
