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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHKW
RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHNP RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHTM
RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHROV #0054/01 1041436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141436Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1092
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 1128

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000054 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (MARTIN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KIRF ENRG SENV SOCI TNGD TRGY TSPL KTIA VT
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE TURNS OUT THE LIGHTS 
 
VATICAN 00000054  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.   Summary:  The dome of Saint Peter's Basilica plunged into 
darkness March 28 signaling Vatican City's participation in 
Earth Hour 2009. Environmental issues have moved more to the 
front burner since Pope Benedict XVI assumed office in 2005 and 
the Vatican has initiated several highly publicized "green" 
projects since then.  While protecting the environment has 
always been a feature of Catholic social teaching, the Holy See 
is increasingly focused on urging its partners to ensure that 
the world remains safe and livable.  End Summary. 
 
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Human Beings at the Top of the Environmental Chain 
 
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¶2.   In recent years, and increasingly since the election of 
Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy See has taken a strong stance in 
favor of environmental protection.  Its approach to 
environmental problems is focused on moral imperatives, not 
mainstream political and social activism.  Unsurprisingly, the 
Church approaches environmental concerns from a human-centered 
and theologically-driven perspective.  The Church believes that 
the protection of human rights (which encompasses the protection 
of vulnerable populations and future generations) goes 
hand-in-hand with responsible environmental stewardship.  The 
Holy See therefore participates in efforts which actively 
promote both the environment and human beings. 
 
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Green Initiatives at the Holy See 
 
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¶3.   Recent Holy See green initiatives have drawn media and 
scientific attention.  For example, Vatican City -- the world's 
smallest sovereign state -- is also the world's first 
carbon-neutral state.  It offsets its emissions through a 
combined use of renewable energy and involvement in a 
reforestation project in Hungary.  The forest not only provides 
environmental benefits, but also assists in the recovery of an 
environmentally degraded tract of land.  Better yet, it provides 
local jobs.  According to one official at the Pontifical Council 
for Culture, "One can emit less CO2 by not using heating and not 
driving a car, or one can do penance by intervening to offset 
emissions, in this case by planting trees.  It is an ethical and 
a cultural imperative." 
 
¶4.   The Vatican has also installed some 5000 square meters of 
solar panels on the roof of its 8000-seat audience hall.  These 
panels provide clean energy to light, heat and air-condition the 
building -- and excess energy is channeled into Vatican City's 
electricity grid.  The solar panels reduce the 108-acre 
city-state's annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 225,000 
kilograms.  They also save the equivalent of 80,000 kilograms of 
oil on an annual basis.  The Vatican also plans to install solar 
panels atop of the city state's employee dining facilities.  In 
part through use of all these panels, the Vatican plans to be 
20% self sufficient for its energy needs by 2020. 
 
¶5.  In addition, the Vatican plans to set up a solar energy 
system project on a tract of its extra-territorial property 
north of Rome.  The project, which will be installed on land 
currently used as a transmission center for Vatican Radio, will 
generate over six times the energy needed for the station. 
Again, the Vatican will transfer the excess energy back to the 
Italian national grid for power for surrounding communities. 
 
¶6.   Even simple re-cycling of trash and garden waste has taken 
off in a big way in Vatican City, with a greater differentiation 
of materials than in the surrounding state of Italy.  And 
Vatican City is also reducing its energy consumption.  In 1999, 
in preparation for millennium celebrations, the entire lighting 
system of St. Peter's Basilica was upgraded to be low-impact. 
Strategically placed energy-saving light bulbs were installed 
inside and out, cutting the basilica's energy consumption by an 
estimated 40 percent.  The March 28 "switch-off" to mark Earth 
Hour was another gesture to emphasize the moral imperative of 
reducing humanity's negative imprint on the environment. 
 
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Religious Orders Follow the Vatican's Lead 
 
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¶7.   Beyond Rome, religious orders are at the forefront of the 
Catholic Church's environmental initiatives.  Respect and 
 
VATICAN 00000054  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
protection for the environment is incorporated into most 
religious order mission statements.  In many countries, 
particularly in the West, religious orders have formed 
cooperative ventures for education, lobbying, and practical 
projects. 
 
¶8.  For example, in Australia, Presentation sisters provide 
education in sustainability and work a piece of land according 
to permaculture principles; they also operate peace, ecology and 
justice centers.  Members of the Maryknoll order work with 
indigenous people in Mexico to encourage reforestation and crop 
diversification throughout the Mixteca Alta region.  This group 
has established tree nurseries in 22 farming communities and has 
planted more than 150,000 trees.  Maryknoll sisters run the 
Center for the Integrity of Creation in Baguio, the Philippines, 
which is threatened by excessive logging.  The Center focuses on 
education for biodiversity and sustainable development.  And a 
Dominican sister, based at the Dominican hospital in Santa Cruz, 
California, works full time on issues related to the impact of 
health services on the environment.  She says, "Our ecological 
commitment is integral to our healing mission.  There is a 
profound connection that exists between healing the individual 
and healing the planet."  The Dominicans also run an ecological 
farm in Benin City, Nigeria. 
 
¶9.   Back in Rome, the international headquarters of men's and 
women's religious orders also have a joint Commission for 
Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.  Membership 
includes superiors general of orders, a representative of the 
Holy See and nuns and brothers resident in Rome.  The Commission 
aims at providing information to members of the religious 
institutes on issues of justice, peace and the integrity of 
creation to enable the institutes' informed engagement for 
social change. 
 
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Vatican Advocacy on the International Stage 
 
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¶10.  Meanwhile, the Holy See also pursues environmental 
initiatives internationally.  It has been an active participant 
in international fora on the issue - beginning in Stockholm in 
1972 at the UN Conference on the Human Environment.  The Holy 
See has Observer status at the United Nations Environment 
Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, 
the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Food Program, 
the UN Center for Human Settlements, and the UN Commission for 
Sustainable Development.  The Vatican will participate in the 
upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 
as an observer.  It also has observer status at the United 
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.  The Holy See's 
message at these events will continue to be that humanity and 
the environment are interdependent and so actions to address 
problems must consider both.  As Nuncio Migliore said to the UN 
General Assembly in February 2008, "Every small initiative to 
reduce or offset one's carbon footprint, be it the avoidance of 
the unnecessary use of transport or the daily effort to reduce 
energy consumption, contributes to mitigating environmental 
decay and concretely shows commitment to environmental care." 
 
¶11.  The Holy See also issues official statements to draw 
attention to environmental matters, sometimes in conjunction 
with others.  In 2002, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches issued 
the "Venice Declaration" calling on their followers to be 
environmentally responsible.  Similar ecumenical declarations 
followed and in 2006, Pope Benedict and Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomew declared that, "Respect for creation stems from 
respect for human life and dignity... Christians and all other 
believers have a specific role to play in proclaiming moral 
values and in educating people in ecological awareness, which is 
none other than responsibility towards self, towards others, 
towards creation." 
 
¶12.  Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2006 and 2007 Peace Day messages, 
emphasized the symbiosis between the environment and human life. 
 In 2008, moreover, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace 
issued an environmental "Ten Commandments" based on elements of 
the Church's Social Doctrine.  These commandments emphasized the 
centrality of the human person, respect for the created 
environment, the link between ecology and economic development, 
responsibility towards future generations, and that modification 
of the ecosystem is licit when respecting the natural order. 
The complete text of the ecological Ten Commandments is 
available on Embassy Vatican's Diplopedia page: 
http://diplopedia.state.gov/index.php?title=V atican_Policy_ 
Documents 
 
 
VATICAN 00000054  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
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Comment 
 
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¶13.  The Holy See is already using its "moral megaphone" 
internationally to support efforts to tackle climate change and 
environmental degradation, and to support vulnerable 
populations.  It is open to approaches from the USG to engage on 
future efforts to reduce the negative human imprint on the 
environment.  Recently, for example, visiting Speaker Pelosi 
thanked the Pope for his leadership on climate change and 
Congressman Faleomavaega expressed appreciation to Church 
leaders for the moral support offered to vulnerable maritime 
populations affected by climate change.  Embassy Vatican is 
broadening engagement with Holy See officials on these issues. 
The Embassy would welcome contributions on our Diplopedia page 
from other embassies about the Church's environmental work in 
their host nations. 
NOYES