COP31 is taking place in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026. This marks the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This annual global summit brings together government officials, religious leaders, corporate executives, media representatives, and various international organizations to discuss climate policies, strengthen global cooperation, and coordinate international efforts to address climate change.
The Vatican plays a prominent role in international climate conferences, using these global gatherings to promote the Catholic Church’s vision and teachings on climate change. Through its Catholic bishops, the Vatican seeks to advance the climate agenda established by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV. By engaging with world leaders, Church representatives work to influence discussions on climate policy, environmental protection, economic justice, and the responsibility of governments to care for what Pope Francis has repeatedly described as “our common home.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales issued an urgent appeal to leaders gathered at COP31, invoking Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical to reinforce Rome’s climate agenda and press international leaders to recognize the urgency of taking action:
• “Pope Leo noted in his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, the climate crisis is at the root of so many other crises in the world, and so it must be addressed.” [1]
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops likewise pressed leaders gathered at COP31 to heed the Pope’s message and take decisive action, further amplifying the Catholic Church’s campaign to advance its climate agenda on the international stage:
• “Pope Leo XIV expressed in his message last year to COP 30 attendees that God’s creation is ‘crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,’ and that while nations have made progress, it is not enough. He also reminded us that it is not the Paris Agreement that is failing, but our collective response to it.” [2]
• “Echoing the call of our Holy Father, we ask leaders to leave Antalya having matched the scale of their commitments to the scale of the need.” [2]
These coordinated efforts reveal the Catholic Church’s determination to move its religious and moral teachings into the halls of government. The significance of the Vatican’s involvement is unmistakable: it is seeking to transform public policy, climate legislation, and international agreements according to its own religious doctrines and teachings.
“The Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated” (Great Controversy, p. 581).
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