CARITAS starts General Assembly in Rome with environment appeal.

(Tues.05 June 2007):- Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai appealed to G8 leaders on Monday, to reduce greenhouse gases as they meet this week in Germany from June 6-8. She made the appeal during her key note address to delegates at the General Assembly of the worldwide CARITAS Confederation. Delegates from 162 sectors working in 200 countries and territories, are currently holding their weeklong meeting in Rome that concludes June 9, to set goals for their work over the next 4 years. Prof. Maathai said : “The challenges are likely to get worse due to global warming. Weather patterns will be less predictable, prolonged droughts and desertification will get worse, rainfall patterns will change and crop failures will get more frequent. Under such conditions, she said, the fate of the poor will only get worse. Therefore, she appealed to the G8 countries, to do everything they can to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. She also encouraged individuals to change their own life-styles and reduce emissions. Caritas can play a key role in promoting care for the environment through its work at the local level, said Prof. Maathai. Cardinal Renato Martino, who was the other keynote speaker at the Caritas General Assembly said: - “One country in the world that represents 5% of the population, uses up to 20% of the energy, while another country with 20% of the population, consumes only 5% of the energy.” Stating that we are all stewards of Creation, Cardinal Martino called for a change in lifestyle to safeguard the environment.