Pope Francis cancels trip to COP28

Pope Francis has cancelled a planned trip to the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai due to the effects of flu and pneumonia.

The 86-year-old pontiff was scheduled to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on December 1, but doctors asked him to cancel the visit even though his health has improved in recent days.

Francis is known to have survived an operation to remove part of his lung when he was young. The news that the Pope was ill emerged last weekend. He has been receiving treatment with antibiotics intravenously. He cancelled his visit to Dubai with “great regret”.

Earlier, the Pope urged negotiators at the COP28 climate conference to agree to adopt a binding policy of phasing out fossil fuels. The pontiff said humanity’s transition to clean renewable energy was not happening fast enough.

But he noted that the international climate conference was an opportunity for humanity to “change direction” with real commitments to transition to clean energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Pope Francis made the above comments in an updated version of his popular 2015 encyclical – the highest form of papal letter – in which he spoke of the need to protect the environment, confront the dangers and challenges of climate change and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Source: Al Arabiya English

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