Polar bears may not like it but for Greenlanders climate change has opened up two extra weeks a year for crop cultivation. Frozen and forbidding Siberia could become the new bread basket of the world and the Inuits of Alaska may be sitting on some prime real estate in the years to come. In a more lighthearted vein, a cover of a recent issue of The Atlantic shows a penguin inspecting a real estate sign blazoned with the promise, “Coming Soon – Greenhouse Acres.”

But climate change could bring more poverty to developing nations situated along the equator, where scorching temperatures and drought are already prevalent. Low latitude countries like Mexico could experience even more misery as farmers find it increasingly difficult to produce food for their families or crops for the market.

While debate continues on why global warming is occurring, few mainstream scientists deny the fact of global warming. A 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body comprising leading scientists from around the globe, stated “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,”

The panel cited increased “global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.” The panel further concluded that the increase in temperatures is likely due to greenhouse gas concentrations caused predominantly by carbon dioxide emissions. To read the entire report visit: http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

Earlier this year, the Vatican Nuncio to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, reiterated this point stating “There is no doubt that the latest assessment has established a strong connection between human activity and climate change.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been urging Congress to respond to climate change challenges. This summer the bishops’ secretary for Social Development and World Peace, John Carr, told a U.S. Senate Committee that the Church’s concern with good stewardship of God’s creation “began with Genesis not Earth Day.”

Carr said the perspective of the Catholic bishops concerning climate change revolves around three central ideas: exercising prudence, pursuit of the common good and giving priority to the poor, who will be most affected by the environmental degradation caused by climate change.

Carr cited a 2001 U.S. Catholic bishops’ statement – Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good – in which the bishops call for prudence. In this statement that bishops observe that “when a problem is serious and worsening it is better to act now rather than wait until more drastic action is required.”

Concern for the common good, calls for us to recognize the universal nature of climate change – we are all affected and the actions we take, or do not take, will affect the well-being of future generations. In this regard, the issue is not simply technical in nature but has a moral dimension. It involves stewardship of God’s creation and the moral responsibility to leave the world in better shape for our children and grandchildren.

Being sensitive to the needs of the poor is critical as the world grapples with climate change. Richer nations may want strict environmental rules to reduce greenhouse emissions, but poor countries will need assistance.

And in justice, more affluent nations like the United States, which have contributed a disproportionate share to the current greenhouse gas concentrations, should take a leading role in assisting poorer nations to adopt sustainable development that will protect the environment while allowing the poor to move out of poverty.

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change is a new organization established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops to address climate change issues. Their web-site at www.catholicsand climatechange.org/take_action.html includes not only suggestions for what Catholics can do as citizens but also steps Catholics can take in their homes and offices to conserve energy and reduce harmful emissions.