Brian Roewe

Scotland's Catholic bishops' conference and dioceses are among 72 faith institutions on six continents that announced their fossil-free commitments Oct. 26, days before the U.N. climate conference begins in Glasgow.

EarthBeat Weekly: Global public opinion is skeptical that when leaders gather in Glasgow they'll do anything to seriously address the major challenge of climate change.

Catholic development agencies, religious congregations and the Vatican say the climate change summit known as COP26 is crucial to the international effort to limit the planet's rising temperatures. The conference in Glasgow, Scotland will urge nearly 200 countries to commit to substantial, short-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

COP26, the U.N. climate change summit, is set to begin in 17 days. According to Catholics who will be at the conference, there are many reasons why people of faith should pay attention to the proceedings.

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of Greenfield, Wisconsin, are turning their estimated 200 acres near the Mississippi River into a living classroom for the local community. They have permanently committed the land to educational and collaborative sustainability projects.

Two congregations of Franciscan sisters — one in Iowa, the other in Minnesota — both preserved acres of their respective lands by establishing conservation easements. While motivations and the end result were the same, the congregations chose different paths.

Nearly 40 religious leaders call for governments to cut emissions and aid poorer countries, while pledging that their congregations will take action, too.

Originally set for Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the Laudato Si' Action Platform is now scheduled to begin its enrollment period on Nov. 14, with materials for the program available on its website.

With the largest-ever federal climate initiatives on the line in two multitrillion-dollar legislative packages, Rep. Deborah Ross said faith groups could play a key role in pushing both bills across the finish line.

"Tree-hugging Republican" Bob Rafferty of Iowa Business for Clean Energy believes faith can inspire business owners to make their operations greener, even if they don't completely buy into a national climate agenda.

The bills represent a "Kairos moment" that could set up the country's response to climate change for decades, said Avery Davis Lamb of Creation Justice Ministries. "And let me be clear it's not just a political window of opportunity — it's a moral window of opportunity," he said.

In the face of social and environmental crises, the world would do well to follow the lead of its young people, Pope Francis said in a Sept. 1 video message to mark the start of the Season of Creation.

The summer of 2021 has seen temperatures soaring in the U.S. — especially in cities, where asphalt and concrete combine to create an "urban heat island" effect that cranks up the heat even more and exposes inequities.

Flooding was among the environmental challenges identified during a workshop on Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home." The workshop was the start of a series of sessions to discuss climate change's local impact and solutions that benefit all people.

A foreboding future but the potential for a better one if immediate action is taken, with a key role for faith communities. Those were among the religious responses to Monday's major climate change report.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told a Catholic gathering that continued investment in fossil fuels will lead to financial losses as countries move to adopt clean energy.

The Global Catholic Climate Movement, consisting of more than 800 Catholic organizations and thousands of individual members, has changed its name to the Laudato Si' Movement to better represent how the encyclical has animated much of their work since its inception.

For three days in online spaces, thousands of Catholics looked to prime the U.S. church for a stronger response to climate change and Pope Francis' call to become a central component in the global response to the world's ecological challenges.

Speakers urged a bolder embrace of Laudato Si' in the U.S. at the start of a conference seeking to bolster the response of the nation's Catholics to climate change and the pope's landmark ecological encyclical.

Solar geoengineering refers to cooling the planet by reflecting the sun's rays back into space. Advocates say research into such technology is imperative. Opponents argue it poses unnecessary risks and diverts attention from addressing root causes of climate change.