As part of the launch of the global 'Countdown' initiative to support solutions to the climate crisis, Salesian Cooperator James Trewby talked to a group of students from Thornleigh Salesian College.

Over the weekend of 10 October 2020,'Countdown' was launched on the TED platform, with presentations from major international figures, including Pope Francis, and a series of 'local' TEDx events. One of these was organised by Don Bosco Green Alliance, and James, Justice and Peace Education Worker with the Columbans, was interviewed by a group of students from Thornleigh as part of the event. The College is a member of the Alliance, an worldwide network which is open to all groups in the Salesian Family who are willing to make a commitment to protecting and improving the environment.

You can read about the Pope's TED talk further down this page.

In his TED talk for the Countdown event, the pope said the current pandemic has highlighted the global 'socio environmental crisis', and forces us to face a choice 'between what matters and what doesn't' He said science shows we do not have much time to act to protect our common home and ensure its gifts are available for all, "the earth must be worked and nursed, cultivated and protected. We cannot continue to squeeze it like an orange."

He said, "Our goal is clear: to build, within the next decade, a world where we can meet the needs of the present generations, including everyone, without compromising the possibilities of future generations."

Pope Francis called on people of all faiths and all people of good will to join him in "a journey of transformation and action", as outlined in the 'integral ecology' of Laudato Si'. He said that we cannot come out of the current crisis the same, but acknowledged that the changes we need to make will not come easily, "We will have to take it one step at a time; help the weak; persuade those in doubt; imagine new solutions; and commit to carrying them out."

He proposed three areas for action:

• Education for everyone on caring for our planet, "developing the understanding that environmental problems are linked to human needs."
• Access to water and nutrition for everyone, with non-destructive farming methods becoming the "fundamental goal of the entire cycle of food production and distribution,"
• A gradual but prompt transition to clean energy, with an awareness of how this affects the poor and local communities as well as those who work in the energy industry.

"The current economic system is unsustainable. We are faced with the moral imperative and the practical urgency to rethink many things: the way we produce; the way we consume; our culture of waste; our short-term vision; the exploitation of the poor and our indifference towards them; the growing inequalities; and our dependence on harmful energy sources," he said.

"This leads to a new economy, where the production of wealth is directed towards the integral wellbeing of the human being, and to the improvement— not the destruction—of our common home.

"It also implies a renewed politics, conceived as one of the highest forms of charity. Yes, love is interpersonal, but love is also political. It involves all peoples, and it involves Nature."

He called on all of us to play our part, beginning the journey "not tomorrow—today, because the future is built today, and it is not built in isolation, but rather in community and in harmony."

You can watch the Pope's Countdown TED talk on the link below. English subtitles are available.