The Pope already understands the need to save the planet, he has been a strong global leader referring to climate change, but he may not know about the solution of protecting half our earth.

Let’s write to him to put it at the top of his policy priorities, urging him to use his position as the world’s largest landowner to protect our planet! Avaaz will collect all the amazing letters, print them in a beautiful book, and deliver them to him and his team!

Before you write - getting to know Pope Francis:

1. As the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope oversees an organisation that speaks to billions of people worldwide, and he has the ear of multiple world leaders. So when the Pope speaks up about saving the planet, he has more clout than most.
2. The Catholic Church is the largest landowner in the world - and he could encourage the church to put its land under some form of protected environmental status.  
3. In the build up to the Paris climate talks, the Pope took the extraordinary step of releasing a encyclical on climate change. The document is a beautiful vision for protecting our planet and outlines not only that the church must change its behaviour to be more environmental, but that they should practice and teach environmentalism.
4. Ahead of a worldwide day of prayer for the Earth, the Pope urged politicians to “listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most because of the unbalanced ecology”.
5. At a Vatican summit on the environment, he said: “Human-induced climate change is a scientific reality, and its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity. In this core moral space, the world’s religions play a very vital role.”
6. He likes J.R.R. Tolkien and has read his books. He particularly grew fond of Lord of the Rings’ Frodo and Bilbo whom he used as examples of hopeful heroes who are called to walk a path in the unfolding drama between good and evil.
7. He was named the Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2013, and is since he has embarked on a tenure characterized by humility and outspoken support of the world's poor and marginalized people.
8. Pope Francis is a man of many firsts! The first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 741. Let’s urge him to also be the first to call for the protection of half the planet!


Need more info - there’s a short briefing here.

Want to send a physical letter? Mail it to Avaaz at this address and we will include in the package: 27 Union Square W, Suite 500 New York, NY 10003, USA.