Pope: cooperatives for clean
energy against climate change
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| A cocoa farmer of an agricultural cooperative in Ivory Coast saying it is child-labour free (AFP) |
In a tweet to mark the International Day of Cooperatives,
Saturday, Pope Francis notes that cooperatives across the globe are making a
real difference in the fight against climate change.
By Robin Gomes
For the past 97 years, the International Day of Cooperatives
has been celebrated each year on the first Saturday of July. Since 1995,
the United Nations and the International Cooperative Alliance have chosen the
theme of the annual day. The focus for this year is on climate action for
sustainable development for a healthier, fairer and more united economy.
In a tweet for Saturday’s observance, Pope Francis also
focused on the role of cooperatives in the fight against climate change.
“In some places, cooperatives are being developed to exploit renewable
sources of energy which ensure local self-sufficiency,” the Pope wrote on his
Twitter account @Pontifex. “They can make a real difference in the fight
against climate change, thanks to a strong sense of community and a deep love
for the land,” he added.
Cooperatives - people-centred development
The aim of the annual celebration is to increase awareness
about cooperatives. Being people-centred, not capital-centred, cooperatives
distribute wealth in a fairer way. As farms, businesses, or other
organizations which are owned and run jointly by members who share the profits
or benefits, cooperatives are committed to the sustainable development of their
communities, environmentally, socially as well as economically. They
support community activities, local sourcing of supplies to benefit the local
economy, and decision-making that considers the impact on their communities.
Healthy, social and integral progress
Pope Francis' tweet is an echo from his landmark encyclical “Laudato
Si’”, which addresses issues of justice, peace and
development with regard to the use of the goods of creation. He says that
technology can be used for a type of progress which is “healthier, more human,
more social, more integral”, such as when “cooperatives of small producers
adopt less polluting means of production, and opt for a non-consumerist model
of life, recreation and community”.
Addressing representatives of the Confederation of Italian
Cooperatives on 16 March 2020, the Pope observed that the way of the
cooperatives is to “take the lid off” of an economy that risks producing goods
but at the cost of social injustice.
UN: Challenges of Covid-19 and climate change
In a message for the June 4 International Day of
Cooperatives, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, focused on the role of
cooperatives in addressing the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and
climate change and in forging a path towards an inclusive and equitable future
for all.
He noted that the dual crises of the pandemic and the
climate emergency “are disproportionately affecting the world’s most vulnerable
countries and people, and deepening many social and economic rifts”. The
crises are also highlighting the need to strengthen global cooperation and
solidarity.
This year’s observance, he said, underscores the
contribution of cooperatives in addressing these challenges, achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals and forging a path towards an inclusive and
equitable future.
“Cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy
enterprises,” Guterres noted, “can also point the way toward resilience in
times of crisis”.
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