“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.” Voices of the Earth Charter Initiative Responding to Encyclical Laudato Si’ Voces de la Iniciativa de la Carta de la Tierra Respondiendo a la Encíclica Laudato Si’ “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.” Voices of the Earth Charter Initiative Responding to Encyclical Laudato Si’ Essays by : Leonardo Boff, Fritjof Capra, Joe Holland, José Matarrita, Elizabeth May, Steven C. Rockefeller, Awraham Soetendorp, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim Compilers: Alicia Jiménez, Mirian Vilela editorial Universidad Técnica Nacional Primera edición / First edition: 2017 Diseño de portada / Cover design: Federico Arce Jiménez Diagramación / Layout: Federico Arce Jiménez y Emily Paniagua López Revisión de estilo / Copy editing: Lorna Battista y Fiona Jane Stitfold Traductores / Translators: Amandine Pieux, Mª José Gavito Milano, Alicia Jiménez y José Matarrita Coordinación editorial / Publisher: Consejo Editorial UTN / National Technical University of Costa Rica Press La EUTN es miembro del Sistema de Editorales Universitarias de Centroamérica SEDUCA, perteneciente al Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano CSUCA. Coedición realizada con el apoyo académico de la Secretaría de la Carta de la Tierra, la Cátedra de Bioética y Derechos Humanos Internacional y la Editorial de la Universidad Técnica Nacional. This publication has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the Earth Charter International Secretariat, the Chair on Bioethics and Human Rights and the National Technical University of Costa Rica Press. Impreso en Costa Rica. Reservados todos los derechos, prohibida la reproducción no au- torizada por cualquier medio mecánico o electrónico del contenido total o parcial de esta publicación. Hecho el depósito de ley. Printed in Costa Rica. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without prior permission. Legal deposit done. © Sobre la presente edición Editorial Universidad Técnica Nacional. EUTN, Centro de Formación Pedagógica y Tecnología Educativa. Universidad Técnica Nacional. Alajuela, Costa Rica. Tel.: 2436-5500, ext.:7301, [email protected] Content Introduction ...........................................................................................................................ix Mirian Vilela and Alicia Jiménez The Magna Carta of Integral Ecology: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the poor .............. 1 Leonardo Boff Laudato Si’ — The Ecological Ethics and Systemic Thought of Pope Francis ...........7 Fritjof Capra Linking the Earth Charter & Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ to Heal the Anthropocene Breakdown ............................................................................................................................20 Joe Holland Itineraries towards new bioethical, ecological and social praxis, inspired in the Encycli- cal Letter Laudato Si’ ............................................................................................................24 José Matarrita Why Pope Francis’s statement is important? ...................................................................28 Elizabeth May Laudato Si’ and the Earth Charter......................................................................................31 Steven C. Rockefeller Comments from a Rabbi to the Encyclical Laudato Si’ ..................................................39 Awraham Soetendorp Cosmology and Ecology in Laudato Si’ ............................................................................42 Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim vii “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.” Introduction Mirian Vilela and Alicia Jiménez Mirian Vilela (Brazil) is the Executive Director of the Earth Charter International Secretariat and the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. Mirian has been working with the Earth Charter Initiative since early 1996. She is coordinating the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter. She was also a member of the UNESCO Expert Reference Group for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and has been a professor on Sustainable Development at the University for Peace since 2005. Alicia Jiménez (Costa Rica) is the Director of Programmes at the Earth Char- ter International (ECI) Secretariat in Costa Rica. She is a biologist with a MSc in Resource Development from Michigan State University in the US and since 1998 has been working in the field of conservation and sustainable development. She worked in the IUCN Mesoamerica’s Regional Office and the National University of Costa Rica, and has been involved as a visiting professor at the University for Peace. In 2006, she joined the ECI, where she oversees the promotion of the Earth Charter as widely as possible, especially in Latin America, Africa & Middle East and Asia Pacific. In addition, she is involved with the Secretariat’s projects on education for sustainable development. A number of historical milestones emerged in 2015 regarding the interna- tional commitment to sustainable development and the responsibility to ad- dress climate change. The first was the publication of the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis on Care for our Common Home, signed on 24 May and launched on 18 June 2015. This is the first Encyclical that focuses on the theme of environment and sustainability with an integral ecological vision. The second milestone was the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the 2030 Development Agenda, adopted by more than 150 world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly in September (UNDP, 2015). These objectives outline an action plan and framework for international cooperation aimed at ending all forms of pover- ty, inequality and tackling climate change, while ensuring that no one is left ix Introduction behind (UN, 2016). The idea is to use these objectives as a basis for de- velopment plans and public policies of the countries which have subscribed to the SDGs. Subsequently, in December, the third milestone was reached when 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement during the UN Conference on Cli- mate (COP 21). This Agreement builds on the work undertaken under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but charts a new course in the global effort to combat climate change. It seeks to accelerate and intensify the actions and investment needed for a sustai- nable low carbon future (UNFCCC, n.d). From the moment it was launched, this Encyclical generated great expec- tations and comments around the world about its potential impact, with world leaders expressing their approval for this Catholic Church social doc- trine document. Pope Francis did not hide his intention that this Encyclical would have impacts on the Paris Agreement negotiations; the formulation of energy policies in different countries; the awakening of a global movement for sustainability; and calling on people to put pressure on politicians to make stronger changes. It is not often that a Pope attends the UN General Assembly, yet, Pope Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, as the representative of the Vatican State, highlighting the main points of the Laudato Si’. The international media provided wide coverage to the launch of this En- cyclical. Many world leaders referred to Laudato Si’ Encyclical in their speeches during the Climate Conference (COP 21) (Gordon, 2016). The Secretary-General of the UNFCCC Secretariat during the negotia- tion of the Paris Agreement, Christiana Figueres, affirmed that the Pope’s Encyclical, along with mobilization by many other faith groups across the globe, provided a clear moral imperative for taking climate action, suppor- ting the Paris Climate Change Agreement and backing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. (UNFCCC, 2016). In addition to the influence it has had in the area of global governance for sustainable development, Laudato Si’, as all Encyclicals, is a very important teaching document for the Catholic Church. Moreover, its pertinent and up- to-date content, as well as its clear language, enhances the document’s potential to be used in education processes for the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world and the general public. x Introduction Similarly, the Earth Charter articulates