Article published on msn.com on 6/26/2024.
Pope Francis, a vocal campaigner for action against climate change and on environmental protection, on Wednesday ordered the construction of a solar farm to cover the energy needs of the Vatican City State.
The mini-state, based in Rome, hosts the headquarters of the global Catholic Church and comprises St Peter’s Basilica. It is the world’s smallest country, measuring just 0.44 square kilometers.
Expressing his wishes in a Motu Proprio, a personal papal edict, the 87-year-old pontiff said the solar farm should be built outside Vatican walls, in Santa Maria Galeria in the northwestern outskirts of Rome.
The area belongs to the Vatican and already hosts a broadcasting center for Vatican Radio, which will also be powered by the new solar farm. The papal edict did not specify how big the farm will be or when it would be ready.
“We must transition towards a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere, aiming towards climate neutrality,” Francis said in the two-page document.
