The Vatican and Climate Policy

Abstract

This article examines the Vatican’s growing influence in international political stage. According to the author, Since the publication of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’ in May 2015, the Holy See has strategically employed the climate agenda to expand its presence, particularly across the Global South. The encyclical, being one of the most significant papal documents addressing the relationship between humanity and the environment, played a key role in facilitating the successful adoption of the international Paris Agreement. The Vatican has positioned itself among the foremost advocates of the global climate agenda, embracing an issue that, as a shared global challenge, can bring together individuals across religious boundaries. The article analyzes the axiological and ideological foundations of this diplomatic strategy of the global Catholic center, drawing attention to parallels between the teaching of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ and the rhetoric of liberal planetary thought. The latter represents a constellation of contemporary philosophical and ideological ideas and beliefs that conceptualize the Earth as a self-regulating superorganism endowed with an intrinsic capacity for maintaining life in all its diversity. Within this framework, the author interprets the Vatican’s climate diplomacy as an attempt to reassert its global geopolitical power, reflecting the imperious traits once characteristic of ancient pagan Rome. The study concludes that even after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, the newly elected pontiff has continued to place strong emphasis on the Vatican’s international and diplomatic activity.