Unlikely allies urge climate action

Pope Leo joins hands with actor-turned-activist Schwarzenegger to rally Catholics to ‘terminate’ global warming, writes Ella Ide

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Pope Leo XIV joins environmental experts and campaigners from around the world for a climate conference near Rome yesterday featuring Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The three-day event marks the 10th anniversary of late Pope Francis's landmark climate manifesto Laudato Si, an appeal for action on human-caused global warming.

US-born Pope Leo, elected in May following Francis's death, has taken up his predecessor's rallying cry, insisting it is time to swap words for “decisive and coordinated climate action”.

Time is of the essence. The emissions which drive climate change have been rising around the world, but need to almost halve by the end of the decade to limit global warming to the safer levels agreed under the 2015 Paris deal.

How to achieve that will be the focus of the upcoming UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November.