Jansa: Ecological Conversion Is Necessary
Participating in a meeting of EU officials and religious leaders in Brussels on Monday, Slovenian Prime Minister and President of the EU Council Janez Jansa pointed out that climate change was a fact and that it was high time to act. What Pope John Paul II called an "ecological conversion" is crucial, he told a press conference.
According to Jansa, it is necessary to encourage governments, companies, and citizens all around the world, as it is necessary to work together. To fight climate change successfully, it is necessary to change habits, philosophies, and world views. Consumer society creates artificial needs and increases pollution by increasing consumption, Jansa explained.
Climate change does not only call for change in science, research and innovation, but also in educational systems, he stressed. "Slovenia wants to see the realisation of the Euro-Mediterranean University project as an actual result of its EU presidency and the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue", Jansa said.
The university based on the Slovenian coast should become a juncture of the Islamic, Hebrew, and Christian worlds, Jansa said. He announced the signing of the agreement establishing the Euro-Mediterranean University for 9 June in Portoroz, and thanked the presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament for their help in the realisation of the project.
The meeting featured Jansa as well as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poetttering. The officials met representatives of Christian Churches and of Hebrew and Muslim communities in Europe.
Summing up the debate, Barroso said religious communities subscribed to the need that people need to take responsibility for the planet. "We are not the last generation on Earth," Barroso said.
The second part of the debate was dedicated to reconciliation. Jansa said the differences in views were bigger than in the debate on climate change, but he pointed out that Europe was a very positive example of achieving consensus through tough negotiations, allowing for a great degree of differences.
According to the European Parliament President, such meetings will become binding with the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, which stipulates that EU institutions need to maintain ongoing dialogue with religious communities.
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